Victis Honor
by Vio14
Summary: It should have ended with the first Great Prophecy, but it didn't. The second Great Prophecy came to fruition only months after, more foreboding than the last. In a world where the balance once held between the divine and mortal is breaking, what is one to do? Only few can rise to the challenge. It all starts with a quest- save Hera, and if that fails... AU. Canon characters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This story is largely written because of my own disappointment with the Heroes of Olympus series. I mean, don't get me wrong; I highly doubt that I'd have been able to write such a monster of a series by myself. But the characters, the plot... everything seemed to go downhill after a certain point. The characters didn't get the development they deserved, and while the books were mainly focused on the _plot,_ that didn't seem to get much development either. The ending of the series was disappointing, for books that had held so much potential. So I guess I wanted to write my own version. I don't think I'm arrogant enough to truly believe that I could do it better if I tried- I've given writing this story a shot before, and only managed to reach 20,000 words. But I wanted to give it a shot, for real this time. I want to begin a story that I can finish, that is good from start to end. So I decided to start with this.

But this is also a story that will have non-canonical pairings. The above definitely plays a part in it, but as I was planning out the story, I realized that I didn't want to follow the original romances (with the only certain exception being Percabeth). It's an AU; please don't expect the story to follow the original to a T. And if you don't like non-canon pairings, this story is surely not the one for you.

To end, I hope you guys enjoy, and stick around long enough for me to (hopefully) finish this. Thanks for looking, and R & R, please!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, nor the Heroes of Olympus series. All of the aforementioned belong to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

 **{1.}**

He was leaving again.

Piper bit her lip against the onslaught of words fighting to come out of her mouth. The hand of her dad's new assistant was sweaty, and she tried not to squirm. The airport was loud and bustling, the floors shining from a freshly clean wax and the air smelling of scents she couldn't identify, people from all over the world. Her nose ran. The line at the gate was already crowded, moving slowly and filled with conversation and complaints.

It was stifling. Piper tried not to cry.

Her dad finally looked up from his ticket, and smiled at her. "Hey, Pipes, it's okay. I won't be gone long."

She nodded mutely. _But you're always leaving,_ remained an unspoken sentence in her head.

He kneeled down to her level, and ruffled her hair. Her bangs fell in front of her eyes, and she was grateful for the cover it provided. At this distance, she could smell his cologne, familiar and nice. It made her want to cry all over again. "Be a good girl while I'm gone, okay? Do your homework, listen to-" He glanced at his assistant. "Sarah, and, well. I love you sweetheart, okay? I'll miss you."

Her mouth was dry, and she swallowed. "Okay."

He hugged her and kissed her forehead before standing up, waving over his shoulder as he walked away. Her skirt bunched up in her fist. _Don't go_ , she wanted to shout. Don't leave her with a woman whose face resembled a clown with all it's makeup, don't leave her in a home with no one to run to, don't leave her _alone_.

Instead, she said nothing.

 _You're always leaving._

 _And I'm still here._

"Wakey, wakey, Pipey," someone said, and Piper blinked, because that voice didn't belong to this memory, or dream, or whatever it was-

She woke up, her eyes straining against the sunlight that gleamed through the blinds hanging in front of the windows, changing what was black to yellow. Piper had to resist the urge to groan, and she wiped a hand across her face. Drew stood beside her bed, a gloomy, tall presence silhouetted against the daybreak, that was, _funnily enough_ (and not really funny at all) similar to a god, at least from her position. Piper had to blink again. She needed to remind herself that this was her reality now, at times. She had a feeling that that was something she'd be doing often. If she made it that far, anyway.

"There's a quest that _I_ have to go for," Drew said. "And you're holding me back, Dumpster Queen."

 _As if I could forget,_ Piper wanted to say, but instead she said, "Morning,"; unlike Drew, Piper knew when to take the higher road, to be the better person. Or it might have been what she was convincing herself of, because the smugness in Drew's tone reminded of her days locked in schools with nowhere to go and insults and fists coming in from all sides, and that was a memory she'd rather like to forget.

Drew didn't reply, turning on her heel with a flash of her hair and a whiff of nutmeg-smelling perfume, the kind of thing that you'd smell at Christmas. Christmas, the holiday that was just around the corner which meant that Drew's ensemble wasn't as odd as it seemed. Piper's heart fell another few inches from the place where it'd already dropped. She should have been at home, but instead she was in a camp full of children of the gods. Then again, her dad wouldn't have been home either. And she would still be at the Wilderness School. But.

 _You_ _'re always leaving._

Suddenly, all Piper could see was a giant and flames, and she had to tell herself to get up. Normal teenagers didn't sit in their beds and stare at the wall in a scary kind of stillness, remember? She had to remember what made sense, 'cause nothing made sense, and at the moment, that was all she had.

Her toes curled at the first touch of the cold pink floor. She rolled her shoulders, her mind flashing back to the events of the past night. In chronological order: she'd woken up from the field day that Hera had had possessing her body; had headed down to the amphitheatre for sing-a-long time with marshmallows; heard two prophecies that spilled out trouble, and finally... she'd been claimed by Aphrodite, only for Drew to take her place on the quest. Except it'd never been hers in the first place, and that had been the cruelest reprimanding she could have gotten.

She'd needed that quest. She'd needed it so _badly_ \- no, her _father_ was the one that needed it, and she was still here.

 _I'm still here._

Piper swallowed against the bile rising in her throat. Reminded herself that she had to move as well, lest she look like one of those statues the Grecians were known for.

Drew stood at a vanity in the corner of the room, resting her hand at the edge of it as she checked herself in the mirror, brushing her hair and checking her makeup. She lifted her head to catch Piper in the edge of the glass staring, and smirked. Quickly, Piper looked away, and forced her face to relax from its scowl with a deep breath.

After picking up the orange camp shirt and shorts that had been neatly folded and lying on her newly engraved chest, she made her way to the bathroom, clutching it in her arms. Unlike the rest of the cabin, the floor of the washroom was made of tiles, white and shining in the glare of the light that hung overhead. Piper leaned against the sink, reluctant to look in the mirror; but curiosity won, and she did.

She looked like a princess straight out of a fairytale.

Piper dragged a nail down her cheek, frowning. Her skin was smooth, and not dry like it usually was in the morning. Her finger hadn't disturbed whatever makeup rested on her cheek, and she sighed, dropping it. Quickly, Piper turned on the tap, doused her face in ice-cold water and wiped her face with a towel. The results were disappointing: nothing had come off on the towel, and her reflection remained the same. This time, Piper couldn't stop herself from scowling.

She changed out of her clothes, unable to resist staring at her skin. Did Aphrodite look like her? Resemble her daughter the slightest bit? She doubted it- a goddess of beauty, she'd probably look white, and drop-dead gorgeous and... not like Piper.

Still. She had better things to sulk about.

Outside the door, Drew was waiting. She casually slouched against the wall, arms crossed, poised. A backpack was strung across her shoulders, and she glanced at Piper coolly before straightening. "Listen up, Dumpster Queen," she began, her voice frosty. "I don't have a lot of time to talk, or introduce you to everyone-" _Out of laziness rather than hastiness,_ Piper's mind supplied, "-but in my absence, Mitchell is the cabin counselor." She pointed a finger at a boy in the corner, rummaging under a bed for garbage. "You listen to him, although I doubt you two would have trouble getting along with each other anyways." She tapped the inside of her arm impatiently, and glanced at Piper again. "Got it?"

"I got it," Piper said, failing to hide her irritation.

"Good." Drew took a few steps, and paused. She turned to look back at Piper, her words only slightly less cold. "Look, sweetheart, you're new. I get it; it can be hard to get used to... this." Her lip curled in disdain, she gestured around with a hand. "All this godly stuff. But you're not any different from the others- you're not getting any special treatment, no matter how much you want to prove... whatever you're trying to prove." Thinking back to the events of the previous night, Piper's cheeks flushed. It didn't escape Drew's notice, her lip curled in amusement rather than disdain. "Try to act like a _true_ daughter of Aphrodite, alright, hon?" Her tone turned cruel, Piper's swelling mood stomped by her words. What the hell did _that_ mean?

Drew smirked. "Catch you later, Pipes." She sauntered out of the cabin, the rest of its occupants staring after her, not all admiringly.

A few moments later, Piper jumped, caught off guard by a loud, mechanical whirring. "What was that?!"

The boy- Mitchell- stood up from the floor, dusting off his knees."That'd be the members of the quest leaving, on their brand new mechanical _dragon_." He sounded dull and sour, practically looking green with envy. Piper felt a brief moment of shock before her bad mood resumed; Drew had been truthful when she'd said she hadn't had time to talk.

He stared at her for a long moment, then walked up and stuck out his hand. "I'm Mitchell."

"Oh- yeah, I know. I'm Piper."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You know?"

"Ah, Drew told me."

"Surprise, surprise." Mitchell really did look puzzled, but shook it off with a shrug. "She actually told you who I am? Well, I'm your new cabin counselor, if only for a few days of paradise. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Sarcasm seemed to be a common trait among demigods. She let her gaze roam over the room, returning to Mitchell quizzically. "Why were you on the floor?"

"Oh, that?" Mitchell's eyes darted away, and shot her an embarrassed glance. "Just cleaning duty."

"For what?"

"I might have said some things."

"What kind of things?"

Mitchell gave her a look. "Curious type, eh?" He sighed. "Nothing big. Just that you might've been a better choice for the quest than Drew."

"For real?"

"I was just trying to piss her off. Like I said, nothing big." He turned around, missing Piper's deflated expression. He sure didn't pull his punches. "I'll introduce you to everyone before breakfast." He grabbed her wrist, pulling her along. Pushy. "This is..."

 **xXx**

As it turned out, there were only a few people that Piper had to be introduced to. _Most of the kids are away for Christmas break,_ Mitchell had explained. _They usually like to leave as early as possible- the kids who stay all year, that is, which is a lot, these days. It's a dangerous world, and, well- Camp Half-Blood isn't actually this deserted._

Deserted? There had to be at least a hundred people; from what Mitchell had been saying, the total number of campers was double that. There'd been an influx of kids after the war... whatever that was. Piper held off from asking. A part of Mitchell seemed to shut down while talking about it, his eyes growing distant and far-away. It just seemed too rude to do so.

Breakfast was a rather uneventful time. For Piper, anyways. She found herself unable to make conversation, sitting at the edge of the table a few feet away from the others. During the offering, she'd prayed half-heartedly in silence. Neither she nor her father had ever been the religious type; he always became closed off whenever Christianity was brought up, and his own roots... Sometimes Piper thought that her father didn't have faith in anything. He'd never been able to believe, not even after all of Grandpa Tom's lessons and stories.

But apparently the gods did exist. She didn't have any reason to question the afterlife, or otherworldly forces. In a far corner of her mind, Piper wondered if it was possible to know of the gods and still be an atheist. Probably. People were strange that way: always asking questions, always wanting to know, always _doubting_...

Piper chewed on her waffle. It felt like dust in her mouth. On a good day, it probably would have tasted delicious. She just couldn't work up the appetite. Wherever he was, her father was most likely starving. He was injured, hurt and being tormented... and for what? For what? Every time she forgot about her dad, Piper felt a stab of guilt once she remembered. What type of daughter was she? Any other person in her situation should- _would_ be losing their mind with worry.

Piper swallowed her drink, and the bitter taste that rose up after. Any other person wouldn't be doing nothing.

"Piper?" A girl scooted next to her, clutching on to her tray nervously. Lacy. Golden hair pulled into pigtails, a mouth full of braces that she flashed in a small smile. "H-Hi. You looked...?"

"Lonely?" Piper guessed. Her voice pitched at the end of the word as she tried to change her tone. She didn't mean to sound so flat.

"Sad, more like." Lacy tugged at the bracelets on her thin wrists. For an eleven year-old, she was observant. Piper was surprised she hadn't said guilty instead. "I know it can be overwhelming. But you don't- you don't have to be alone. That's the point of- siblings, of a camp, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess." Piper smiled weakly in return. She'd never felt more alone than now, but there was no way she was telling Lacy that.

Lacy beamed, pleased with herself. Piper nibbled at the remains of her breakfast.

Even after she was done, Piper found that she couldn't stop herself from moving. Staying still meant fewer distractions, and fewer distractions meant more time to go insane. Her hand picked up the fork, twirling it on the plate in a strange dance- _Like a ballerina_ , Piper mused. It'd been a short-lived dream, one of many that she'd never shared with her father. She'd never gotten to talk to him before it ended.

"Piper," Lacy asked, hesitant. The fork stopped. "Are you okay? You seem kind of out of it."

"I kind of am. Just overwhelmed," Piper lied.

 **xXx**

It was just her luck that the first day of camp, the gladiator version of Capture the Flag took place. Most everyone was excited, jumping on the spot or chatting excitedly; from what she'd heard, this was the first time they'd been able to play the game in months. And most likely, people were out for blood.

"You don't have to play," Mitchell told her, running a hand through his brown hair. His freckles stood out even more among the flush of his cheeks. The hot weather was getting to them all. Piper herself felt like she would keel over at any moment, after such a long day. It wasn't supposed to be humid at the beginning of winter, for god's sake. But demigods tended to bend the rules of logic. "It's just a Thursday tradition," Mitchell said. "You can play next Thursday. Especially since you're a newbie."

"I..." Piper glanced off to the side, where three of her sisters were talking in hushed voices. Unlike everyone else, they remained without a suit of armor. "Are they going to play?"

"No." Mitchell tucked his helmet under his arm. "The children of Aphrodite aren't exactly known for participating."

"Oh. I guess I'll..."

 _Try to act like a true daughter of Aphrodite, alright, hon?_

"I'll sit this one out."

Mitchell shrugged. "Suit yourself."

It wasn't just the memory of Drew's words. From the looks of it, the girls were gossiping, and maybe- gossiping might bring her into the loop of everything, at least answers that she hadn't gotten from anyone else. Keeping secrets didn't seem to be a skill of Aphrodite's kids.

"The poor girl," Piper heard one of them muttering as she walked closer. "For Percy to go missing, after everything..."

"That's just the tragedy of true love, I guess..."

"Hi," Piper started awkwardly.

The girls looked up from their circle. "Hello," they said, just as awkward.

"I couldn't help hearing-" Piper paused, lifting her hands in a beseeching manner, "-what you were saying. I don't mean to intrude, but, uh... who exactly is Percy Jackson?"

She immediately felt ridiculous. What the hell was she doing? This was a whole other level of "nosy".

"Oh, you wouldn't know, would you?" one of the girls said. Ashley; her lips drooped in a permanent pout. "He was- is, I mean- a hero."

The blonde in the group rolled her eyes. "Way to sell it short."

"Okay, okay." Ashley curled a strand of red hair around her finger as she bit her lip in thought. "Without him... well, not a lot of us would still be here. We would have lost the war- the war against the Titans- for sure."

"Still selling it short." The blonde, whose name if Piper recalled correctly was Laura, flipped her hair over her shoulder. "It wasn't just the war. He went on plenty of quests before that too. When he was twelve, he retrieved the lightning bolt for Zeus-"

"When he was thirteen, he went into the Sea of Monsters for the Golden Fleece-"

"And only a couple months after that, he went on that quest to rescue Annabeth... and, uh, Artemis as well, from that titan Atlas, but technically that wasn't his quest since he snuck out of camp-"

"Wait." Piper stared at Ashley, her heart pounding in her ears. "He snuck out of camp?"

Ashley nodded. "Yeah, for Annabeth..." She clasped her hands and seemed to swoon, almost. "Pretty romantic, don't you think?

"Y...yeah." That meant... that meant... "How did he even manage it?"

The girls stared at each other, and shrugged. "He got past the harpies somehow. Anyways, that's not even the last of it..."

Piper tuned out the rest. She was getting out of this camp, one way or another. If it had been done before, it could be done again.

The thought lingered in her head as she laid down on her bed hours later, pulling the thick covers over her body. She stared at the wall opposite her, the shadow of the tree outside the window waving to her among the plaster. Piper turned on her side, putting it behind her. Blowing in the wind, the actions of the tree were too lifelike. For a second, she thought it'd been a monster... her lips tugged up in a humorless grin.

A small breath whooshed out of her mouth as she closed her eyes. As much as she wished, sleep didn't come quick.

The dream started almost immediately as darkness swallowed her.

The ground underneath was rocky, uneven- Piper gasped, stumbling backwards, her feet near collapsing under her. Overhead, the stars shone bright and numerous in the sky, a stark contrast to the plastic glow in the dark stars that littered the ceiling of Cabin Ten. Smoke wafted into the clouds, the fire it originated from casting a strange purple glow for yards.

Piper's eyes darted wildly around her. Judging by the fact that breathing was slightly harder than it should have been, the rocky terrain, the trees at the outskirts of the area and miles of rock leading above, throwing a long shadow over everything except for the patches illuminated by the fire, she was... on a mountain? In a clearing, if she had to take a guess...

The setting was familiar, now that she'd fully taken in her surroundings. Piper's jaw clenched, but it did nothing to stop her hands from trembling. Not in anger, as she hoped, but in fear.

Across from her, on the other side of the clearing, she could see her father, strung up and bound. His head lolled; his once handsome face was covered in cuts and bruises, and god knew whatever the rest of his body looked like... this was worse than the last time. Piper held in the sob that threatened to escape. What had that _thing_ put him through? The _giant_.

Now anger overtook fear, and her shaking stopped.

At the edge of the bonfire, a large being crouched; legs covered in scales the glimmered in the night, a mop of dreads threaded with bones and _those eyes_ , chalk white with no pupils that examined her as if she was a fine specimen, an animal being cut open in a laboratory.

The giant stood, the ground cracking underneath his feet. He looked at her with an increased intensity, what seemed to be a smile at the end of his lips. The earth quaked as he talked. "Daughter of Aphrodite... so you've come."

 _I didn't come,_ Piper thought. _You **brought** me here. _Her mouth remained pressed shut.

In the oddly-coloured light of the fire, the giant's face looked like something out of a nightmare- this _was_ a nightmare. The shakes returned. Suddenly, Piper wasn't a safe distance away- the monster's face was right in front of her, huge and _horrifying_. With features so crude, it didn't even seem alive. So close to the flames, the edges of Piper's clothes charred to embers, and her skin burned. She bit down on her tongue, hard, keeping in the scream that was struggling to emerge.

The giant's eyes creased into a squint, and it smiled without mirth. "You plan to leave that camp, do you not?"

Piper couldn't respond. Tears of terror welled in her eyes- she had to get away. She had to wake up. _Wake **up**._

 _"_ You will come to me, won't you, _half-blood_?" Its eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul. "It appears your father doesn't have much time." It glanced away to her father's motionless form, its face filled with disdain. "His mind will give out before his body, I fear. But you knew that, child."

It leaned closer to her, its voice descending to a whisper- somehow, it still managed to break the steady stream of air. "Do my bidding, and your father will be left alive. You have my word, the word of _Enceladus_." As it spoke the name, the clouds obscuring the edge of the mountaintop broke, revealing the luminous lights of the city below. From where she was standing, Piper could see the Golden Gate Bridge. A shred of sanity escaped through the chaos throwing her mind into disarray, and her lips opened in surprise.

A gigantic hand reached for her, and this time, Piper couldn't hold back the scream that came. " _Come to me_."

The dirt fell beneath Piper's feet, and she tumbled into the chasm.

* * *

 **A short author's note:**

First chapter, guys! Kind of long, I suppose, but I fear they will only get longer from here. If you've come to the end of the chapter, thanks for sticking around- I've already got at least one fourth of the story planned out, and _hopefully_ , I will be able to update chapter on a weekly basis at _least_. Again, thank you, and I would love love _love_ if you could take the time to leave a review, now and in the future!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Another chapter, another day. I think this is the time to warn that this really isn't a story for middle school kids as the original story was. This fanfiction will get graphic, and not stray from adult material. But if any of you were like me when I was in middle school, I doubt that'll scare you off. But be warned.

 **To not for granted:** Thank you for the kind review! I just saw it, thank you for your words. Tbh, there's a lot that makes me uncomfortable about the canon relationships we got, although fandom pretty much refuses to touch on those problems- _anyways_ , a discussion for another day. I'm glad you find Piper sympathetic, as well as her relationships with her siblings better explored! It'll get more development as this fic goes on; for now, that's that's what you get. ;) And I'm glad you'll be keeping up with the story! I'll always appreciate that.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus series. The original material belongs to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

 **{2.}**

Piper shot up, gasping, sweat running down her face in trickles. She looked at her skin; light brown and soft, no burns in sight. Piper let out a relieved breath... It had all felt so real. The pain, the fear- it _was_ real.

She kicked off her covers, inhaling deeply. The giant had showed her its location. It _wanted_ her to go to San Francisco. If the giant was telling the truth, all she had to do was head to the city, find the mountain and rescue her father... doubtful. It could never be that simple. Still, she couldn't let her father _die_. If this was a trap, Piper was walking straight into it- but she had to try. She'd cross that bridge when she got to it.

As quickly as she could, Piper changed into clothes and packed a backpack with various necessities. Her mother might have taken everything from her, but she hadn't taken her wallet- small victories. Piper slipped it into her pack. She strapped her knife to her belt, and winced- there was no way she'd be able to beat a giant with such a weapon. Nothing she could do about that.

She'd have to ransack the camp store for enough food to last. Piper sighed, and treaded across the floor quietly, a pair of boots hanging from her hands. She stopped by Mitchell's bed, and glanced down at him guiltily. His face turned into the pillow, his lips parted in sleep. There was a slight furrow in his forehead, as if he was having a nightmare, and Piper felt another stab of guilt. In her absence, he'd have to deal with the fallout. He might as well have been a stranger, but he was still her _brother_ \- even if Piper had no idea what to with that. Hopefully, if she came back, he'd forgive her.

"I'm sorry, Mitchell," Piper whispered. She moved on, closing the cabin door behind her with only a slight creak.

Purple and blue streaked the dark sky, the first hints of sunrise. Piper slipped on her boots, and made her way to the store. Using a hairpin she'd stolen from Cabin Ten's vanity, she unlocked the door. She packed a few water bottles, nutrient bars, and crackers- if she was lucky, that'd be enough. Piper didn't have enough space for anything else.

Piper left the small building, and startled at the huge shape flying towards her.

 _Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit._ She'd forgotten about the fucking _sentries_.

The monster's eyes glowed. Hopelessness and panic began to fill her, before she remembered that she still had an ace up her sleeve.

Her voice smoothed into honey, her words dripping with it. " _You didn't see me._ " Charmspeak.

The monster's red eyes glazed over, the malice in it gone. It turned around and flew off, like Piper wasn't even there.

"Success," Piper whispered to herself, and she couldn't stop the grin that followed. She crept to the boundary of the camp, through the fields of strawberries and the huge pine tree until she came to a sign that said _Delphi Delivery Service._ Piper blinked, and adjusted the business card in her pocket that a friendly satyr had given her sometime the day before. She still had the address and number of Camp Half-Blood, if she came back...

When she came back.

With that thought in mind, Piper strode down the road, her feet unsteady on the bumpy concrete, her bag suddenly a heavy weight against her back.

It took what felt like hours before she finally left the quiet of the farmlands and reached the loud and bustling noises of civilization. Using the spare change she had, Piper managed to catch a bus into the city. The city itself was a mystery to her. Long Island had been much more easier to navigate; in comparison, New York City was a maze. It was easy to feel claustrophobic in the crowded streets and sidewalks. The city was beautiful, but at the same time dirty. Underneath the scents that filled her nose, she could detect the musk of pollution and garbage. The sound of angry horns filled the air, originating from the traffic that clogged the roads. It wasn't Piper's first time in New York City, but it was her first time _alone_.

At least she knew where she was going. Piper took slight comfort in the fact, ignoring the sudden loneliness that had enveloped her.

Penn Station was at 7th Avenue and West 32nd street- from where Piper was, it was a bit of a walk. She took shelter in the coat she wore, tugging the hood up, zipping it as much as she could and pulling the collar up around her neck. In the early morning the sky had turned a light gray, its clouds dark and sprinkling the city with small flakes of snow. Her breath came out in small white puffs. The leafless trees that adorned the wide sidewalks swayed in the winter wind. Pedestrians around her hurried to their destinations, presumably to get out of the cold.

She paused at a crosswalk, the stoplight flickering red. Piper stared across the street as she waited. From where it stood, Penn Station seemed small amongst the backdrop of Madison Square Garden and Penn Plaza, but it was large enough to Piper. She inhaled deeply, the white lettering that spelled out the station's name blurring in her vision. Once she went in, there was no going back. It was all or nothing.

Piper's mind flashed back to the memory of the last time she saw her father, from that summer so long ago... She'd been so stupid. Stealing a BMW? Leo had always acted like it was something to be proud of, but the act remained shameful in Piper's heart. It had gotten her father's attention, alright. Just not in the way she had wanted.

She'd failed her father, back then. She wouldn't fail him again.

The light flickered green, shaking Piper out of her thoughts.

Shivering the slightest bit, Piper stepped off the sidewalk.

 **xXx**

The tip of Piper's nose lost its rosy colour as she stepped into Penn Station, and she resisted the sigh of relief that bloomed in her chest, now that she'd escaped the weather outside. She pulled down her hood, stepping out of the way of others who entered and glanced around, her brow furrowed.

The gray and blue tiled floor gleamed underneath the sheen of the ceiling lights overhead. Multi-coloured lights and green branches covered in fake, fluffy snow wrapped around the blue pillars scattered around, trees that were also decorated visible on the upper floors. The festive lyrics of a Christmas classic played from the speakers. Piper searched for the sign that would lead her to the area where she could purchase a ticket, her face relaxing once she found the way that pointed to the ticket lobby. But first...

Piper made her way to the payphone in the corner, stopping in front of it to rifle through her wallet for a quarter. She needed to contact Jane again, even if it hadn't exactly worked out the last time. In the worst case scenario that both she and her father went missing (or worse)... maybe the police would be able to do something where she hadn't.

Hesitantly, she dialed the number of her father's office; it changed every so often, and hopefully Jane hadn't made the next change just to spite her. She placed the phone next to her ear, trying her best not to roll on the balls of her feet or jog on the spot. Piper didn't have a lot of quarters to spare, and talking to Jane had always made her feel awkward and out of her depth, even now...

" _Hello?_ " Static momentarily cracked the voice that broke through the phone miles away, but it was _something_.

"Jane? Jane, it's me, Piper McLean." Piper made a deliberate effort to lower her voice once she received strange glances, placing her hand over the phone. "Do you know where my father is yet?"

The pause before Jane spoke was long. Too long. Anxiety crawled into her throat, wrapping around it like a snake. "... _Yes,_ " Jane said finally. " _Your father is fine, Piper. He came back a little while ago. The police were not needed, after all. Where are you?"_

"At school." The words came out of Piper's mouth in a rush- she didn't even hesitate about lying. "I borrowed a friend's phone. Again. Can I- can I speak to him?" Of course she couldn't speak to him. Piper knew the response before it came, but she needed confirmation- another confirmation. Maybe she'd misheard.

 _"He's not available at the moment._ _If you have a message for him, I'll take it._ "

Piper tried her best not to let her voice tremble as she spoke, but it still quavered. "No, that's- that's fine."

Her hand shook as she placed the phone back on the receiver. Something was wrong, and it wasn't only the situation- Piper had realized that a long time ago. Something was wrong with _Jane_ , and Piper should have come to that conclusion two days ago, when she'd first called her dad's assistant. Jane had always been a very organized person, even in her line of work, but she'd never sound so formal or so eerily _blank_ \- whenever she spoke to Jane, distraction was usually underlying her tone. So much to think about, so much to do- Jane was a busy woman, and Piper just wasn't that high of a priority. She'd become accustomed to that line of thinking a long time ago, but now the lack of it threw her off balance.

Piper might not have liked Jane particularly much, but if she was being manipulated... Piper swallowed, and stepped back from the payphone. She was out of her depth in more ways than one.

Somehow, Piper managed to lift her gaze from the payphone and move her feet. She went up the escalator and into the line in the lobby in a daze-like state. She was pulled out of it abruptly- and rudely- when a voice behind her said loudly, "Hey, would you fucking _move_ already?"

The fog clouding her mind evaporated. There was a distinct gap between Piper and the person in front of her, and she started before glaring at her feet and shuffling forward. "Sorry, sorry," she grumbled. New Yorkers.

After a few minutes, Piper reached the woman at the desk. "Hello," the woman piped, in a cheerful lilt that didn't hide the boredom lying underneath. She gazed past to the right of Piper's head, her eyes dull. "How may I help you?"

"Um." Piper glanced to the board electronically displaying the various trains above, and back to the woman. "Can I get a ticket to San Francisco, please?"

"And which company would that be? There's quite a few."

Piper tried her best not to get annoyed at the amusement that had sparked in the clerk's eyes, and laughed it off awkwardly instead, casting her gaze upwards again. "Uh, Amtrak, please." That was a good railway company, right...? Better than taking a Greyhound all the way anyways, notorious for breaking down, as her initial plan had been.

She specified a station, and licked her lips. Chapped. The location of the station didn't matter, at least not at the moment. Piper was still uncertain of which mountain it was, but if she couldn't figure it out, she had no doubt that the giant would clue her in.

"The next train comes in at 6:55, so... half an hour from now. That would be 285 dollars, please."

The clerk's cheerful tone had returned, but its effect was lost on the sharp note of panic that sang in Piper's ears. 285 dollars?! How rich did these people think she- oh. Yeah, she was that rich, and she still had her debit card.

"Debit, please," Piper said, and handed the card over. She tried to remove her scowl, with no luck. She entered the passcode to her savings account easily, and waited for it to be accepted. She almost jumped when it was, shocked that she hadn't been let down. After the whole deal with the BMW, and then that trial in court after that, Piper had half- no, mostly expected her bank account to be frozen. But it wasn't.

Piper frowned, feeling like there was something she wasn't remembering. That the reason for it was there, that she knew, but she couldn't- she couldn't recall. _The Mist,_ Annabeth had said. Manipulating her memories, and it looked like its reach didn't stop at Jason.

She could worry about it later. Piper took the ticket from the lady with a muttered thanks, and made her way to the waiting room, where she sat with her elbows perched on her knees, chin held in her clasped hands, her foot tapping on the carpet impatiently.

When there was five minutes left to go, Piper made her way to the platform, hands stuffed in her pockets as cool air once more kissed her cheeks.

Zero minutes left. The train blew into the station, causing her bangs to blow back from her face. Piper boarded, showing her ticket to the steward before finding a place in a room in one of the train cars at the end. She sank into her seat, clutching the blue fabric underneath her hands. Now, she was moving, and some of the anxiety faded. It was about a three day trip. A plane would have been quicker, and remembering the warning about staying away from the earth that Jason and the others had received Piper felt silly for a brief moment before remembering that it wouldn't have mattered anyways- the giant wouldn't let her be harmed until it had her in its hands.

Piper leaned her head against the window as a wave of exhaustion overtook her. The frosting glass bit into Piper's cheek, but the cold felt refreshing.

The door to the compartment slid open, and Piper glanced in surprise at the person who stood in the entrance. Earbuds hung around her neck, trailing to the phone tucked into her jeans pocket. She wore a thick green hoodie, blonde hair falling to her shoulders in pretty waves. She looked to be only a few years older than Piper.

"Sorry," the girl said, holding up her ticket. "All the other compartments are full, and this was the only one that wasn't." She smiled apologetically. "You're stuck with me for the ride, I'm afraid." There was the faint accent of a Californian in her voice- Piper recognized it immediately. Took a Californian to know a Californian.

"No, it's- it's fine." Piper straightened from her slumped position. At least it wasn't an older man.

The girl closed the door behind her, rubbing the back of her neck for a moment. She turned to Piper and offered her hand, flashing a disarming grin. "I'm Elle."

Piper took it. "Piper."

As it turned out, Elle was a student who'd gone to boarding school in New York. She was in the twelfth grade, and was heading back to San Francisco to see her family.

Elle leaned back in her seat, tucking her feet up underneath her. "So where're you from? And what're you heading to San Fran for?"

Thankfully, Piper was saved by the steward who knocked on their door, pulling a trolley filled with various snacks and drinks behind him. It gave her enough time to formulate a believable lie, as well as food more appetizing than the graham crackers sitting at the bottom of her bag.

Piper stuffed a few chips into her mouth, giving herself a few seconds before she had to reply. "I'm from San Francisco too, but I went to school in NYC. My dad lives there, and he's been waiting to see me again. I left school early."

Elle nodded, preoccupied with the nuts she was stuffing into her mouth at a rather alarming pace. "Cool."

The first day passed by uneventfully, and the dreams that came to her in sleep were miserable. Piper woke up with a soft noise leaving her lips, a tear slipping down her cheek. For once, it hadn't been a bad dream- it'd been a good one, of a time where Piper was little, before her father was an actor, before he had money. It'd been short, only a forgotten memory of playing at a playground, but short and sweet was worse than long and scary. Her chest hurt, aching for more.

Piper sat up, wiping the tear from her face with her sleeve and yawned. Sunlight lit the room in strips through the window, and Elle was already dressed in new clothes, happily munching on pancakes. It made Piper all-too aware of _her_ lack of a change of clothes, and she felt gross. She slid down from the bed, and Elle glanced up from her plate.

"Hey. Breakfast happened while you were sleeping." Piper's eyes drifted to the plate beside Elle's, her mouth already salivating. God, she was hungry. "I brought a plate for you from the buffet... I didn't want to wake you up. You seemed like you needed the rest."

"No, it's fine." Piper sat in the seat across from her, pulling the plate into her lap. She chomped on the food, her eyes closing in delight at the taste. It wasn't long before she finished.

Elle was quieter than the day before. The few attempts Piper made at conversation died quickly, and the look in Elle's eyes was unsettling. The warmth from earlier was gone. An inkling of fear and discomfort grew. "I..." It was getting harder and harder to think. Piper's eyelids were heavy, her vision fuzzy at the edges. She swayed in her seat. "...I think I need more sleep..."

"Probably," Elle agreed, coming to sit beside Piper. Piper's head fell onto her shoulder, and she struggled to keep her eyes open, suddenly aware of the danger that the alarms blaring in her mind warned her of. "Just take a long rest now, okay?"

Darkness welcomed her with open arms, and Piper fell unconscious.

"You'll be safe with me."

* * *

 **Ending note:**

And that would be the end of the second chapter! Shorter than the last one. I'm sorry it's slow; I promise, as I update more the chapters will get longer and faster. It's only like this for now because it's the beginning; later, I might come back and edit the earlier chapters.

I think it's also safe to mention that I'll be taking some creative liberties at points... I'll still do my best to do my research as much as possible, but just letting you (the readers) know now.

R & R, please!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** This story is underway, guys! I'm glad I've made it past the first chapter (that's where most of my projects usually stop, to be honest). If I ever write this fic to completion, it'll be a monster, but I'm hoping for the best (obviously, to finish this fic).

I've got at least half of it planned out, and I'm adding more and more details as they come to me; fear not, for I actually _know_ where I'm going with this story. That said, there's a lot of issues I want to address in this fic that I felt were glossed over in HoO.

Honestly, I'm funneling chapters out fast, but these have been written for a time, already, lol. Tbh, up until chapter 5 or 6 I think I'll release chapters daily...? And then move on to weekly updates, maybe.

As another note, there is some repetition from the original TLH in this chapter, but please bear with me. After the first quarter or so of the story, you can expect things to completely diverge from canon. So like I said, bear with it for a little while.

By the way, as a future note, if you don't see me responding to reviews in chapters at first it's because those chapters were prepared a long time before they were posted. Hopefully, if school doesn't get in the way too much, once I hit my stride updates can come more frequently. Anyways, to get to the part that you guys _actually_ came to read!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus series. All rights and characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

 **{3.}**

The more time that passed after she was chosen, the more uncertain Drew grew about her position on the quest.

Not that she'd ever admit it out loud, of course. That would ruin her blustering for sure. But still, it wasn't like she'd actually expected she'd _go._ It'd been... in the spur of the moment, really. Just a bit of posturing. Logic hadn't played a factor in it, and neither had the self-serving thoughts that usually took the top spot in her mind.

And yet...

Drew stared at Piper. The kid looked like she might cry, which Drew quite frankly didn't understand. Who on earth would be so disappointed by the fact that they _weren't_ participating in a quest that might as well have been a suicide mission, ending in their probable death? Honestly. Demigods these days.

That wasn't what bothered Drew, though. Really, there wasn't a clear reason as to why such an intense dislike filled her whenever she looked at the girl. The faint pink glow of Aphrodite's blessing still hung in the air around her, gradually fading. Her appearance was a far cry from the girl who'd initially arrived at the camp.

Aphrodite's blessing... Gods. So rare. That gift didn't just go to anybody, and Piper looked _upset_ with it. Drew had never received it herself, and couldn't remember a time where any of her siblings had gotten it either. Except for-

That didn't matter.

Anyways, that blessing was a sign of preferential treatment, a usual staple of the gods. Looked like there was another favourite in the works, and it was the Dumpster Queen, rather predictably- the girl who stood out the most amongst the frivolous, selfish children of Aphrodite. ( _The girl who's the most likable,_ Drew's mind whispered, _the girl just like-_ _)_ Except the poor sweetheart hadn't been chosen like she'd wanted, like she'd expected. It was obvious. She was the new favourite.

And yet.

Mother dearest would be _so_ disappointed.

Drew gladly accepted the smug smirk that crept on her face. Piper met her gaze and looked away, arms wrapped around her midsection, cheeks scarlet. Drew's smirk grew wider. For now, she could bask in righteous glory. Consequences would come later. Consequences always came. No point in pondering them now.

As her cabin left the amphitheatre, Drew spotted Jason, who'd been heading towards them. "Jason~!" She shouted- practically sang, as she ran and threw herself on him, clinging to his arm. Underneath her, his muscles tensed. Predictable, and disappointing. The trick usually worked. Drew would have been more offended, but he wasn't her type. Plus, she was just putting on a show for Dumpster Queen, and it worked- the girl turned away, fists clenched as she walked away at a faster pace. Clearly, Drew had just gotten in the way of true love. _Whoops. My bad._

Drew waited until Piper was out of sight, and dropped Jason's arm. "Sorry for that," she said, for a moment serious- and then her lips rose in a flirtatious grin, and she winked. "So, hero? What's the plan?"

He stared back at her coolly. Ouch. "You tell me."

Drew shrugged, the grin still dancing on her lips. "We rescue Hera and save the day, I guess?"

Jason made an unimpressed sound. For a second, annoyance broke through Drew's mask, but she hid it quickly. "Look, I've been at the camp for a couple of years," Drew said. "I'm not a newbie, like that Hephaestus kid- whatshisname-" she snapped her fingers. "Leo, right? I know the ropes. And hey, I'm a master of persuasion." She flashed another toothy grin, her voice adopting the sweet notes of charmspeak at the end. This time, Jason was unaffected, and his face remained unimpressed. Damn. Tough crowd.

Drew watched him as he left her and walked to his cabin, head held high. "See you tomorrow!" she hollered after him. Jason didn't respond. Beneath the strong veneer, he seemed lonely, but whatever. That wasn't her problem. He didn't like her, and the feeling was mutual. Once this quest was over, Drew doubted she'd talk to him again.

Drew left to her cabin, lost to visions of victory. If this quest was successful, it would only add to her reputation, and her brothers and sisters would look at her in a different light. If the quest didn't end in failure, that was...

Failure was for losers. Drew was not a loser.

At the door of her cabin, she paused, glancing up at the sky. The stars were luminous, and she felt her face soften. Something about them had always seemed magical to Drew, even after the revelations of gods and monsters. So far away... a lot of the time, she too wished she could be a distant observer. With no one to see her, the smile on Drew's face was true- wistful, and a little sad, maybe.

The smile faded as quickly as it came, and Drew stepped into Cabin Ten, the artificial happiness of her siblings overwhelming.

 **xXx**

The metal dragon Drew sat upon was warm to touch. Drew had let her hand rest on its skin for the past few minutes, feeling the vibrations and whirring of the machinery underneath. Festus, Leo had named it. Although she'd rolled her eyes, it wasn't that bad of a name, even if it seemed more suited for that of a puppy. (Honestly, Happy the _dragon_.) Its warmth was almost comforting, especially up where they flew in the wide expanse of air.

Drew lifted her hand, and picked at her nail polish. No chips in sight- that was good. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

She dropped it, sighing. "So," she said, repeating her words from the previous night, "What's the plan?"

They both stared at her as if she'd offended them personally, and Drew snapped. "What? It's a valid question."

Leo rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the reins. Behind her, Jason exhaled. "We go to Quebec," he said slowly. It was easy to hear the dislike under his calm words, and Drew forced herself not to stiffen. _Mutual_ , she reminded herself, _it's mutual_. "We talk to Boreas, find out where the venti are, find out who they work for, and then find out where _Hera_ is. Got it?"

An ironic callback of her own words to Piper this morning. Drew couldn't stop the sarcasm from leaking into her drawl. "Yeah, I got it. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Man, if only I'd figured that out earlier. Should have, I guess. It was just that _obvious_."

Drew grimaced almost immediately. She was doing a great job of playing nice. It wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out why the two were so annoyed. They'd wanted Piper, not Drew. She was sorry to disappoint, being such a sad imitation in comparison. Later. Later, they'd realize Drew had been the better option after all. She just needed to give them time, that was all...

Something deeper than spite and anger clawed at her, something Drew couldn't identify. That was the problem, wasn't it? No one ever wanted her. She was tired of having to prove herself, prove that she was worth something, over and over and over _again_. It hadn't worked with her father, it hadn't worked with her mother, and it hadn't worked at Camp Half-Blood. There was a reason she'd already given up on trying.

Jason and Leo seemed to detect the silent change in her, as they didn't rise to the bait. Drew's nails bit into her palms, and she forced her hands to relax. _Pull yourself together_ , she told herself. _No need to get emotional_. She'd always been good at putting on a performance in the spotlight. And in the spotlight she was... where were those acting skills when she needed them?

"Sorry," she said, after a long silence. It wasn't much of an apology, but no one ever expected much of an apology from her. "I didn't mean that." She smiled, small and sweet. She was good at that. Small and sweet. "You got any food? We kinda missed breakfast." She was only in this for herself. Not to rescue a god who had never answered a single one of her prayers. None of the Olympians ever had. One too many begging voices, Drew had always told herself. Reasoned to herself. The delusions and denial of a child.

She'd always been in it for the glory and the riches. That was what the legends had been about, right? It never failed to start from there.

"Luckily enough, I did pack some food," Leo declared. The glance he shot her was a little unsure, once she looked past the humor. "Biggest pocket in my backpack, the sandwiches."

Drew obliged, pulling them out. Three Ziploc bags; she handed one each to Jason and Leo, keeping the last one for herself. She opened the bag, peering at it, and raised an eyebrow. "Avocado?"

Leo hesitated, and then shrugged. "Piper's a vegetarian."

Oh. Yeah, that was right... he'd left before sticking around to check out the final result, hadn't he? Definitely had not planned on good ol' Drew Tanaka tagging along. Another failed expectation.

"Funny. I'm a vegetarian too," Drew said. "Shared family trait, you think?"

No one laughed. Well, she'd never been much of a comedian.

"The giants," Leo said suddenly. " _The giants' revenge_. What was that all about? We're not talking the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, right?"

"Nowhere near," Drew said. "I'm fuzzy on the details, but after the Titans fell, the giants rose in the aftermath, to destroy Olympus." She pushed back her hair from her face. "Suffice to say, they failed. As the enemies of the gods always do. But they were near impossible to kill, and accounts of what they could do aren't exactly clear. Ignoring that, it's obvious that history is repeating itself."

Leo and Jason looked disturbed. "Just how impossible to kill?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are we talking Rasputin-levels of unkillable? Nine lives?"

Drew didn't respond. She didn't have an answer. Eventually, they dropped the subject, when it was clear it wasn't going further.

"There's another thing I don't understand," Leo said. "If saving Hera will only unleash her rage, then what's the point? No one trusts her, anyways. Should we really be doing this?" He looked like he wanted to say something else, but stopped, and shook his head. "I don't understand."

"What is there to understand?" Drew said. She didn't mean to come off as blunt, or cruel, but the question confused her. "We have to. There is no _if_ _."_

Leo glanced at her with hooded eyes. "There's always a choice, Drew," he said. "We don't have to do anything. Not for some crazy goddess."

"This isn't a world with choices, Leo. Especially when it comes to the Olympians." Dimly, she felt pity for him. "You'll understand that soon enough."

Jason, who had been quiet the whole conversation, finally looked up. "Drew's right," he said, sounding strangely flat. "I can't- I can't remember anything, but that seems... right. Hera chose us for this. We're-" He hesitated, looking at Drew. "We're the first three of the Seven, right?"

"Just because Hera wants us to save her doesn't mean we're special," Drew said. "Not necessarily. You're taking this at face-value. Look, prophecies tend to have double meanings. Percy Jackson- the guy Annabeth was looking for- everyone thought he would be the hero of the last Great Prophecy. He wasn't. It was- anyways, you gotta... look underneath the underneath."

Both of the boys had skeptical expressions, but they didn't argue.

After a few hours, Leo began to tip forward, each time stopping himself before he completely fell over. For a while, the sight served as Drew's only source of entertainment, but after a point it just got too pathetic. "Hey," she said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Nap Time, wouldn't you say?"

"What? I don't-"

" _Sleep_."

It took less than a second.

"What?" she said, in response to the look that Jason gave her. "It worked, didn't it? He needed it."

"Without his permission?"

"If _Piper_ had done it, you wouldn't have said anything."

Jason opened his mouth, like he wanted to protest, before shutting it and looking away, frowning. It was true, then. "Look, if I was doing it to mess with his head, that's another thing. I wouldn't do that." ( _But you do that to your own little brothers and sisters, don't you?_ )

"Okay." Jason didn't sound like he particularly believed her, but he didn't look like he was particularly listening either. He was staring at what looked to be a photo in his hand, crumpled and yellowing at the edges.

Drew wanted to ask, but the vulnerability in his eyes... she decided not to pry.

She looked down below the clouds to the cities instead. They'd passed over New York a long time ago. Drew had ignored the small aching in her chest as Brooklyn had gone by- she hadn't had a home there for a long time. Now, she guessed that they were flying over either the state of Vermont or New Hampshire. Up in the sky, the tallest of skyscrapers were only dots. Feeling a tendril of nausea snaking around her throat, Drew leaned back in her seat.

She pulled her skirt down from where it rode up her legs, fighting back another sigh. If neither of them talked, this was going to be a very long, very boring flight. More boring than it had to be. "So, Jason," Drew began. "Do you... remember anything? Anything at all."

For a while, Jason didn't respond, and Drew wondered if he hadn't heard her. "Some things," he said finally.

It was clear he wouldn't elaborate on what those "some things" were, but Drew would bet that that picture had something to do with it. She tried another approach. "What if we can't find Hera?"

"What?" Jason stared at her, baffled.

Drew hadn't meant to sound like such a pessimist; it didn't stop it from being any less possible. She hadn't meant it to be so sudden either. "There's always a margin for failure," she said, dropping the high pitch that she'd adopted. "Quests used to fail all the time in the past. It's only recently that we've had a lucky streak, and luck won't last forever." Strange. She had always played up her confidence, being as arrogant as possible; and now she'd dropped it. Something about Jason made it easy to be honest.

Jason shook his head. "This isn't a quest that we can fail."

"Doesn't mean we won't."

He looked troubled, and then exasperated. "I didn't pick you for the negative type."

"I'm a realist."

"Sure." Jason dropped his gaze to his hands. "Let's just worry about _now_ rather than the possible future, yeah? No point in kicking up a fuss."

"'No point in kicking up a fuss?'" Drew couldn't help the derision that filled her tone. "What are you, an old lady?"

His cheeks flushed, and he scowled. Cute. " _No_."

"Sure, Gramps. Need me to fetch some dentures and a cane? And a doctor while I'm at it? You seem to be going senile in your old age." She pretended to examine his face, her expression serious.

Jason leaned away from her, his lips twitching, as if he was holding back a smile. His scowl grew weaker and weaker by the second. "Stop. You're not funny."

"Okay, okay." Drew lifted her hands in surrender, turning away. She squawked as a bird almost flew into her face at the speed of a missile, and heard the faint sound of muffled laughter behind her.

Weird. Even if he was laughing at her, Drew couldn't find it in herself to get irritated.

Soon enough, they'd reached their destination. Drew shook Leo's shoulder. "Wake up, hon. We're here."

"In Quebec City?" Leo rubbed at his eyes. "Already? Damn."

They flew over Lower Quebec, where the city had first begun as a settlement. Drew stared down at the cobblestone streets, the port at the edge of the St. Lawrence River, the small brown, brick buildings... while it wasn't particularly flashy, there was something about it that made it... beautiful. The mix of past and present, maybe- hard to find such a thing, nowadays. It seemed more like a town than the capital of the province it was. So much unlike Manhattan, a masquerade of a city of dreams that managed to hide its dirty alleyways and rotten society under its glamour, and Brooklyn, which didn't even pretend to be anything other than what it was, with its poor people and savage gangs. They were the only places Drew had ever known, aside from Camp Half-Blood. This- this was different. Foreign. It made Drew's chest tight, and she swallowed.

"Where are we even going?" Leo complained. "Jason, do you-?"

"No," he admitted. "I thought- that it'd be obvious, special. Something a demigod or mortal could find, since... you know. God and all."

"So, basically, we find it by half-assed guesses- sorry, I meant _instincts_ ," Drew said, as Jason shot her a dirty look. "My bad. You happen to be a magical GPS, Jason?"

Jason eyed her the way a cranky adult would scowl at a snarky teenager; _enough with the sarcasm, young lady_. Drew snickered. It only further supported her growing theory that he was an old man in disguise.

"So, where do ya say it is, Jason?" Drew asked, playing up her accent. "If you had to pick a guess."

"Well... that castle in the centre of the city, for one," Jason said, pointing to the aforementioned location.

She hadn't noticed it, focused on Lower Quebec; the castle added to the medieval effect already present with the walls that surrounded the city. Still, from what Drew had read of Quebec in better days, the castle was supposed to be on the outskirts, not in the centre...

"I don't think that's a castle."

On closer look, she turned out to be right. The tall, red-bricked building was a hotel rather than the fairy-tale setting she'd initially imagined. Black limousines and sleek cars parked in the drive, tourists and people that seemed to be of some importance idling on the red carpet, leaning on their suitcases or talking into their phones.

Leo looked uneasy. "Shouldn't they be able to see us?"

"No, the Mist will hide us. Our true nature, at least," Drew said. Case in point, no one looked up to stare in awe at the flying dragon hovering over the hotel.

She sighed, staring over Quebec to its snow-capped buildings and rolling hills and plains that laid outside the walls. Snow fluttered down from the clouds, making the sunset look more pretty, and adding to the city's illusion of a winter wonderland. "Guess it's not so magical after all... What's Plan B?"

"No, wait," Jason said, peering over Drew's shoulder and staring at the rooftop. "This- this is the right place."

Two angels flew up to meet them, and Drew balked, before remembering where she was. She lived in the world out of the Iliad, not the Bible. No matter what she used to believe without the knowledge of gods and monsters.

A great rumble rose from Festus's throat, and Drew jumped.

"Easy, easy," Leo murmured, patting the dragon's golden throat.

"They're like _venti_ ," Jason muttered. _Storm spirits_ , Drew's mind translated, from the little Latin she knew. He was right, to an extent. Unlike the storm spirits' vaporous wings, the wings of these creatures were rather feathery and purple. Other than that, and the threatening swords, they looked like they could have been two perfectly normal human beings.

Well, aside from the hockey jock, and the other who looked like he'd walked straight out of the 80's. _What's crackalackin', fellas?_ Drew wanted to say, but showing off her knowledge of slang from the age of rock and roll wouldn't win her any points. She kept silent, and decided to let Jason and Leo take the reins.

"No clearance," the jock grunted.

"'Scuse me?" Leo asked. She couldn't blame him. The grunt had been almost unintelligible.

"You have no flight plan on file," explained the rock star. Drew winced at his accent. She was a daughter of Aphrodite; she knew French, and that wasn't it. Even from a native speaker talking in English, she could tell the difference between what was fake and real. "This is restricted airspace."

"Destroy them?" the jock questioned, showing off his less than perfect teeth.

Festus hissed steam, and Jason flipped his coin, summoning his sword. Drew bit back the groan trying to emerge. She'd kept silent long enough. Clearly, the two oafs she had as traveling companions knew nothing of _diplomacy_. Or in Leo's case, anything other than telling a joke or building something.

"We're sorry for the intrusion," Drew said, flashing her best smile. "May I ask your names?" She held back on the charmspeak. Better to draw it out slowly, instead of using all her power immediately. With monsters and other godly creatures, it was difficult to tell who it would work on or not. She'd learned to keep her cards to her chest the hard way.

"I am Cal!" the big one grunted. Seemed he couldn't talk in any other tone.

"Short for Calais," the rocker explained. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables, which includes his own name."

"I am Cal!" Calais repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"

Leo had a mocking light in his eyes. Drew lifted her hand to stop him from saying anything that could potentially stop them from getting in the angels' good graces. "That's unfortunate."

"Indeed," the groovy angel agreed. "As Calais said, I am Zethes, short for Zethes. But you, young lady-" He winked at her, and Drew desperately blocked the memories of acne-riddled nerds trying to get their way into her skirt. "You can call me anything you like. Perhaps you would fancy a dinner with a famous demigod before you die?"

 _Oh, ew. Ewwww._ Drew showed nothing of her inner thoughts, smiling sweetly in return. "Maybe, if we _don't_ die."

Zethes wriggled his eyebrows; it looked like caterpillars were wildly squirming on his face. "We are a very romantic people, we Boreads. It would be a night to remember."

"Wait, Boreads?" Jason interrupted, taking the words straight out of Drew's head. "Like Boreas? Are you his sons?"

Zethes looked pleased. "Indeed! We are the gatekeepers of his palace. You understand why we can't have unauthorized guests coming and going as they please, scaring the silly mortal peoples."

Below, people were starting to take notice, with annoyance in place of what should have been terror.

"Which is why, unless this is an emergency, you will have to _leave_ ," Zethes said. The word carried the underlying meanings of something other than a peaceful goodbye. Cal raised his sword.

Drew gasped dramatically. "You misunderstand! This _is_ an emergency!"

Zethes frowned at her, no longer looking so love struck. "And what kind of emergency would that be, young lady?"

He was a demigod, not an actual god. Charmspeaking was safe. "A crisis," Drew pouted. "A _big_ crisis. Possibly world-ending, and your father can help us, if you let us talk to him..." she fluttered her eyelashes, adding on the benefits of Aphrodite's love magic.

Zethes's expression wavered. "My sister would not be happy-"

" _Please_ ," Drew asked, heaping on spades of charmspeak.

3, 2, 1... And he was a goner. Inwardly, Drew smirked.

"Alright," Zethes said, a small hint of defeat in his eyes. "Follow us." The two demigods sheathed their swords and pulled out smaller objects, which, on closer look were flashlights, the kind used for airport runways. Zethes and Cal swooped towards the tower, Festus following in their wake.

They made for the green garbled peak. A fraction of the slanted roof slid open, easily big enough for all of them, lined with jagged icicles that resembled the mouth of a shark. They were flying into the lion's' den, alright.

"I don't like this," Jason said in a low voice, but it was too late to turn back.

 **xXx**

What might have been a glamorous penthouse suite was changed by the layer of ice that glazed over everything. Drew was afraid of placing her feet on the ice in fear of slipping and cracking her skull, but it was surprisingly stable and firm.

Jason stared up the staircase. "Something... something's not right."

"You said it, sister," Leo muttered.

Frost was already forming on Festus's scales. It shuddered, and spouted flames to heat itself up.

"No, no, no," Zethes snapped, storming over. "No fire in here, please. Either deactivate the dragon, or you really can leave."

Festus growled, but Leo held up his hand. "He's kind of touchy about that word. Don't worry, I got this."

He pulled a switch from behind the dragon's left foreleg, causing Festus to compact and fold until he was nothing but a golden suitcase.

Leo beamed. "See? All good."

"No," Zethes said, after a pause. "There is still fire."

Leo looked slightly nervous. "Really? Well, as you can see, Festus is all suited up- suited up, haha, get it-?"

"Not from the dragon, boy. I can smell it on _you_. Are you really a demigod? Or a spy, a child of the South Wind?" Zethes's eyes narrowed. Drew's gaze followed his hand to the pommel of his sword, his fingers gripping the weapon with pale knuckles.

"No, no. I'm just a child of Hephaestus- a child of the forge. It's a hereditary thing."

Zethes pushed Leo back at sword-point. "Don't _push_ me, child," he snarled, dropping the phony accent completely. Frost spread from the tip of the sword, curling over Leo's jacket.

Despite their eccentricities, it was clear the threat was nothing to laugh at. These guys were dangerous.

Leo no longer looked a little anxious- he looked like a deer caught in headlights, his eyes wide and darting back and forth. "Guys-" he began desperately.

Jason stepped forward, coin in hand. "You're just a child of Hephaestus," Jason said, keeping his sight on Zethes. "Aren't you, Leo?"

"I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding..." Drew said, trying to keep the peace.

"I'm afraid not," Zethes replied.

"Look. I'm a son of Zeus, and Drew and Leo are-"

"Zeus?" Zethes's face was shocked. "Zeus, you say?"

"Yes," Jason said uncertainly. "I-"

Zethes sheathed his sword. "You're the one we've been told to watch for," he said. "Come, then. But the fire boy- he stays _here_ _._ Cal will look after him."

"Watch for?" Drew said, stalling for time. "What does that mean?"

"That depends on my father's will," a voice said from the top of the staircase.

The voice belonged to a beautiful girl, wearing a silk white dress. Lush black tresses flowed past her shoulders, and dark brown eyes viewed them coldly- a queen looking down from her throne, or perhaps a princess. Her gaze stopped at Jason.

"You are the one they call Jason, yes? My father will want to see you."

"Jason?" Zethes asked, staring at him. "Interesting choice of a name. You... are not quite as good as the original, though."

The girl's expression grew annoyed. "Enough talk. Bring our guests, Zethes- excluding the son of Hephaestus."

Leo looked as if she'd stabbed him in the gut, but hurt changed to shock as Jason put his hand on his shoulder. "All of us, or none at all."

Zethes studied him appraisingly. "Your choice, son of Zeus. But this is our domain. You can leave with the information you need, or with nothing."

Leo stepped out from under Jason's grip. "Go. I'll be fine."

"But-" Jason started to protest. Leo cut him off.

"Seriously, go. If you don't, I'll be really pissed off."

Drew shrugged when Jason glanced at her for help. "I hate to say it, Jason, but he's right. There's nothing we can do."

"Come," the girl said again. "King Boreas is waiting."

They followed the ice princess up the frozen staircase, Zethes trailing at the back with his sword drawn.

Jason's face was carefully blank, but the tight press of his lips betrayed worry. Drew nudged his side with her elbow.

"Just a talk, right?" she whispered. "It'll be fine."

"Just a talk," Jason repeated, sounding as if he was the one reassuring _her_.

"Yep. Everything's A-OK. After all, you've got me, the master of persuasion on your side." She winked at him, a mirror of the one she'd given him the previous night.

She was full of shit, and he knew it. Jason rolled his eyes, a contrast from his grateful, small smile. Regardless of bluffing or not, it seemed to comfort him anyways. Some things, Drew was good for.

After heading down a hallway decked with tapestries, they reached two huge wooden doors carved with a map of the world, bearded men blowing wind from each corner. It reminded Drew of the old-fashioned maps cartographers used to design centuries ago.

"This is the throne room," the girl said. "Try to be on your best behaviour. My father can be... cold, at the best of times. I will act as your translator, and encourage him to hear you out as best as I can. I do hope he spares you. We could have so much _fun_ ," she said, her eyes lingering on Jason. Her use of the word sent chills up Drew's spine.

She turned back to the doors, but Drew stopped her before they could open. "Wait. What's... your name?" She was surprised at the earnesty she heard in her own tone. Still, something about this girl reminded her of herself. And she knew that beings other than the Olympians tended to be forgotten.

If the girl was surprised that she asked, she didn't show it. "You have not figured it out already? I am Khione, goddess of snow." At her raised fingertip, ice swirled above, forming intricate patterns in the air. Slowly, they formed big, fluffy, flakes, before a miniature blizzard stormed in the palm of her hand. She closed her fingers, and the snow disappeared into nothing.

"Now, come," Khione said. "My father waits."

The doors opened with an ominous creak, spilling ghastly blue light across the frosted floor.

* * *

 **Short author's note:**

Long chapter here, guys! I'm just rehashing a lot of canon content here; I promise, that's the last you'll see of so much repetition of scenes already present in the books. Don't forget to leave a comment if you can, please! I really appreciate any reviews you guys leave (as long as they're constructive, of course).


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Fourth chapter already, guys. Yahoo. (That sounds really unenthusiastic and sarcastic, but I'm actually pretty pumped.)

I'm glad I've gotten as far as I have, and I really appreciate any readers coming to enjoy the story. To talk about the writing process a little, I love writing Drew; she's a fun character to write, given that her canon characterization gives a lot of room to fill in the blanks. While I'm trying to keep her as close to the original characterization as possible, I'm still aiming to change it up quite a lot, as you can probably already see.

Anyways! I appreciate anyone who left a review last chapter. Here's the next, for your consumption!

(I'm skipping over the interaction with Boreas, here- it pretty much went the same as it did in canon, guys, and I don't think I really need to waste time writing it out for you). As a warning, guys, this chapter is really, really long- something I didn't predict happening as I wrote this. It's a lot to read, but hopefully you'll stick around till the end.

to **not for granted** : Really? I find your Drew to be more IC than mine, tbh, and I really love your story! If my story reminds me of yours, than I hope new developments in this chapter won't be too similar? I've been planning this for a while, so if they are... :/. I doubt they are, though, since I'm still trying to figure out the main mystery in your story, lmao.

to **Irwin2000** : Thank you! And trust me, I know... I've had this in the works for more than a year... I am worried about late uploads because of school and other obligations, but hopefully I can keep this story on track.

to **BlackAndSilverMonkey** : I know, right?! As you are my only irl friend on this site, you know how long I've been working on this and damn... it's been a long ride. If I ever need help editing or writing, you're gonna be the first person I come to, lmao.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or the sequel series.**

* * *

 **{4.}**

The atmosphere in the night sky was freezing. Frankly, Drew had had enough of the cold.

She shivered, wrapping her arms around her chest. Damn her short-sightedness for bringing such a thin coat. Her teeth chattered, the gale blowing through drying her eyes. Well, she had a nice view of the stars, at any rate, for all the good that did.

The business card Khione had given her sat heavy in her pocket. Drew patted the small bulge, making sure it was still there.

"...So, Boreas," Leo said, interrupting the silence that had fallen over them like a blanket. "That went pretty well, huh?"

"Mostly," Jason said. His normally piercing blue eyes were dull; he hid it quite well, but Drew could tell the talk had shaken him up. Badly, despite how much he pretended to be a fearless leader. Although most people found it hard to believe, children of Aphrodite tended to be more attuned and able to discern the emotions of others than what was usual. Drew suspected that it was a skill meant more for matchmaking than empathy.

A son of _Jupiter_ , Boreas had called him. That was Zeus's Roman name. Drew's eyes traced the faint outlines of the SPQR tattoo on Jason's forearm, almost invisible in the dark and hidden by the sleeve of his jacket. If he really was a Roman demigod, that would have explained a lot of things- how they could have missed a child of one of the Big Three, for one. It also led to a larger quantity of questions than they had answers for.

"We'll find the master of the winds in Chicago," Jason said. "What did that card say again, Drew?"

"What? Oh." Pulled out her thoughts, Drew dug her hand in her pocket. She squinted, struggling to read the words in the nonexistent lighting. Her dyslexia certainly didn't help matters.

"'M's Department Store'," she read aloud. "Wonder what that M stands for- Macy's? That'd be a good pit stop. I really do need some new clothes."

She was joking, of course. The M obviously stood for another mythological being- a servant of Gaea's. Drew racked her head for possible monsters or people, but came up with nothing. Right now, her mind was too distracted by other things to conjure up any details.

"Guess we'll find out," Leo said tiredly. Drew had half-expected a joke, but ever since Boreas's palace he'd seemed out of it. Distant, and exhausted in a way that didn't have to do with lack of sleep.

He turned to face her, the laughter that had previously always been present in his eyes and mouth gone. "Maybe you should get some rest. We should reach Illinois by morning... Now would be a good time."

"Yeah." Drew wasn't particularly tired, but she didn't argue. In times of danger, you had to take your reprieves when you got them. She shifted, doing her best to curl against the dragon's warm hide, away from the cold. There was enough space to get into an almost comfortable position, and Drew exhaled softly. She wished she could at least entertain the comfort of human contact, but she hadn't had such a thing for years. The occasional boy didn't count. What she really wanted was family, a parent's loving arms...

She'd never had that.

Drew closed her eyes, and fell into a blissful sleep.

 **xXx**

Her bliss didn't last long.

What had started as sweet dreams of pink flowers and beautiful mothers with rosy cheeks and smiling lips faded into nightmarish memories. She stood in the lavish condo she and her dad had owned in Brooklyn, tiny and cute again. A helpless, ignorant kid.

Drew walked in steps she'd already taken, years ago. Vaguely, her conscious managed to feel horror. She knew how this ended. Reliving it was a cruel, terrible thing. The rest of Drew was trapped in the emotions she'd felt in those moments; fear, anxiety, and paranoia.

She knocked on the looming white bathroom door with a small fist. _Daddy_ , she wanted to croak, but she'd never said such a thing. Father or dad, maybe, but not _that_. Such a childish word, meant for children who were stupid, innocent. Drew was neither of the two.

"...Dad," she said finally. "Is everything okay? You've been in there for a while."

No answer. Drew's hand began to tremble, the beginnings of terror swirling in her gut. She knocked again, more urgent, the pounding of skin against wood louder. Her pale fingers and knuckles flushed an angry red. "Dad?!"

Nothing. Terrifying images flashed in her head; things that had happened to other families, friends of hers. People who lived in poor condominiums and projects, who had nothing to live for, no happiness to look forward to. But that couldn't happen to _her_ , not her _father_. She twisted and yanked the knob, with no luck. Locked, and she didn't have a key or a coin and her nails were too short...

"Dad, _pleas_ e _,_ " she pleaded, her voice choked with desperation and sobs. "Open the door. Open the door. Open the _damn_ door!"

She fell to her knees, pushing against the door with weak hands. Her fingers dragged down the wood, and she ignored the pain and blood that bloomed.

"Open the door, Dad. Please. Open the door. Open the door. Open the-"

 **xXx**

"-door," Drew gasped, her eyes flying open.

For a few seconds, she lay still against the dragon, shaking.

The mantra repeated in her head, like a nursery rhyme, over and over. _Open the door. Open the door. Open the door._

"Nightmare?" a voice asked behind her.

Drew shot up in her seat, feverish and wild. "What-"

"Hey!" Two hands planted on her shoulders, firm. Drew's trembles ceased. Jason's blue eyes stared into hers, concerned.

"It's me, Jason. We're on a quest to save Hera, you, me and Leo. You're okay."

Drew let herself relax. "I'm okay." Whatever perspiration that had formed on her face was already cooling, sticking to her skin. She tangled her fingers in the fabric of her skirt, giving them something to hold on to.

"...Sorry," Drew murmured. "I'm sorry."

Jason let his hands drop from her shoulders, looking away. "It's fine. Bad dreams happen to everyone."

Drew was glad he didn't ask her what it had been about. She felt like one of the frozen warriors that stood in Boreas's throne room; still, eyes stuck in a final expression of terror. Goosebumps sprouted under her clothes. "Leo's...?"

"Sleeping," Jason supplied. "I kept watch."

The purple and blue morning light of the sky made his face look skeletal, highlighting his sharp features. There were dark bags underneath his eyelids, and his eyes looked more gray than blue. Dead, and exhausted.

Drew felt a spark of annoyance. Here he was, fearless gladiator, He Who Needs No Sleep. "You haven't slept in what? Twenty-four hours?" she demanded.

Jason glared back at her. "Leo needed it more than I did."

"Leo actually _slept_ , sweetheart. You don't have to take care of us at your own expense, _Sparky_ ," she snapped. Jason twitched, the nickname annoying him as she knew it would. "How old are you, fifteen? You're not thirty."

" _And_ the leader of this quest," Jason responded sharply. "You're both my responsibility, so yes; I _do_ have to take care of you at my own expense."

"Yeah? Well guess what, Pikachu? I'm sixteen, and older than you. So as your elder, I'm telling you: _go to sleep_."

For a moment, it worked. Jason swayed in his seat, lashes lowering, before he jerked up, straightening. "Don't _do_ that." Her charmspeak was much weaker, in the wake of her dream and tremulous emotional state. Drew scowled, crossing her arms.

"It's for your own damn good!"

"Oh, please!" Jason snorted. "I'm sure that's what you tell monsters before they roll over and die, right?"

"What? Like we'd suddenly be swarmed by them if you're not awake? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were the only thing keeping us _alive_ -"

"Someone has to, _D_ _ollface_ , considering you just like to stand back and look pretty-"

"Would you two please _shut the fuck up_?" Leo burst. Their jaws fell open, and he shook his head, exasperated. "Honestly."

"...And what were you doing?" Drew leered, unperturbed after her initial surprise. "Letting Jason take watch after you'd already had your _break_."

Leo looked rightfully guilty. "I didn't do it on purpose." He rubbed at his eyes, sighing. "You should have woken me up, Jason. You can be so stubborn sometimes, even back at school, asshole-"

He stopped, stricken. Jason's face was inscrutable.

Finally, Jason looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. "I made the decision I thought I had to make. That's it. End of story."

Drew glowered at him for a few seconds, then let the subject drop. Leo was right; Jason really _was_ stubborn, even if he was functioning on over a day without sleep.

Still, Drew didn't feel bad for the argument. Though it was indignant, there was some life in Jason's eyes now. It made him easier to look at; his gaze had reminded her of one too many dead bodies.

That didn't cross out the fact that his "selfless" tendencies were in reality quite self-destructive, but Drew didn't even know the kid. Unlike Jason, who carried the weight of all their lives on his shoulders for no reason other than his own, Drew had no obligation to look after them. She cared if they lived or died, sure- that just didn't include their emotional wellbeing. Really, it was none of her business, and without Jason's memories, he was nothing but a blank slate; who knew what his true personality really was?

In front of her, Leo released a deep breath. "We're here."

With over 2 million inhabitants, the Windy City was huge. Without the card Khione had given her, Drew doubted that any of them would have been able to pinpoint the location of the storm spirits' mysterious mistress.

Leo landed the dragon at the outskirts of a park. Festus- if it'd actually had feathers, that is- fluffed its wings, snorting small plumes of fire. Drew was reluctant to slide off the dragon and leave its warmth, but after reveling in it for a minute she hopped off, patting down the wrinkles in her skirt.

Flurries fell down from the sky, and without the warm bubble Festus had emitted the cold bit at any naked skin she had. The barren trees looked like their branches had been glazed over with glass, some of them strung with white Christmas lights. A cherub stood proudly at the centre of the fountain in front of them, the top of his stone head lightly covered with snow. Drew's boots crunched on the yellow, lifeless grass, her exhales white puffs in the low seasonal temperatures.

With numb hands Drew pulled the card out once again, desperately wishing for a pair of gloves. She peered at the jumbled letters. "...It says that we have to go... ah, something North Michigan."

Leo cocked an eyebrow at her. "Something North Michigan?"

Drew examined her nails, hiding her embarrassment. "I'm dyslexic," she explained. "You know, it's. A demigod thing."

Before Leo could say anything else, Jason nodded. "ADHD and dyslexia are common traits, right?"

"Yes," Drew agreed, glad to steer the conversation away from herself. "It's rare to find a demigod without either."

"Huh. I only have ADHD," Leo said. "Here, pass the card over?"

After Leo took the card from her Drew tucked her hands underneath her armpits, rolling on the balls of her feet. Leo frowned at the lettering, before looking up and saying, "530 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Well, any of us know where that is?"

"Unless any of us lived in Chicago, no, I don't think so," Drew stated dryly.

Jason looked unusually bright, considering the weather currently blowing through their coats and freezing them to the spot. Then again, considering his wind powers, he probably didn't have to endure it as they did, the lucky bastard.

Drew tried not to glare a hole through his face as he beamed. "That's what exploring is for, isn't it?"

"Wonder what's got him in a good mood," she grumbled under her breath to Leo as they fell into step behind him. Leo scratched his hair and shrugged. A fond look took the place of his blank expression.

"Who knows?" Leo said. "Lack of immediate danger? The guy always smiles over the weirdest things-"

Like that time on the dragon, he was visibly stricken. Drew didn't say anything, giving him space.

"You know what's funny?" Leo asked quietly. It sounded more like a confession than a question. "I have- I have all these memories in my head, months worth of them. And then- then I learn they're all fake." He laughed, almost silent, shaking his head. "The memories of what were probably one of the best times of my life, and they're not real. They never were."

Drew opened her mouth, but Leo spoke before she could offer any sympathies. "And the worst thing? I remember all these mannerisms, traits of Jason, and he might not even have them. Can you imagine that? He was one of my best friends, but I probably don't know him at all. We're strangers, not buddies."

 _No, I can't imagine that,_ Drew wanted to say. _There's no way that I can._ She wondered why Leo was telling all these things to her, the bitchy daughter of the love goddess. She wasn't exactly the best choice of a confidant.

"Gods have a tendency to do that," she said instead. "Fuck with your head, and all."

"I guess."

Drew stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket, looking away. She wasn't great with words, even though that was pretty much the entirety of her power. Making people feel things was easy. Making them _not_ feel certain emotions was much harder.

Soon enough, they'd made their way into downtown Chicago. Unlike the lights in the park, the lights that were strung up in the trees lining the streets and sidewalks ranged from a wide spectrum of colours. Some of the trees were large pines, and Drew tried not to stare up at them as she passed. Like the name it was known as, the city was indeed windy, and whatever leaves were left over from autumn blew over the concrete. Skyscrapers towered over them, windows gleaming golden and orange in the early morning sun.

Michigan Avenue was north of the Chicago River, and also home to the city's famous Water Tower landmark. They passed countless restaurants, department stores, retailers, business offices and hotels. None of them was the place they were looking for. Judging by the amount of people who looked just as puzzled as they were by the area, posing in front of the occasional statue or store with a camera or looking around with awe and wonder in their eyes, this road was an attraction for tourists. Distantly, Drew wondered if there were any locals around so they could ask for directions, but anyone who lived in town was no doubt smart enough to stay inside at such a time.

Drew caught their reflections in the window of a boutique as they walked by, and she lagged behind to take a long look. Her steps were slow and measured, her expression sluggish and exhausted; while Leo and Jason walked faster than her, their faces were more or less the same (Jason's initial cheeriness had worn off pretty fast). On the other side of the glass, white mannequins stood, dressed in colourful and expensive dresses that Drew could only dream of affording. The kind of clothes she'd spent much of her childhood imagination wearing.

Her eyes drifted down to the shoes, jewelry and accessories, the sunlight only adding to their shine. Drew's hands came up to rest on the frosted windows, the corners of her lips turned down. They were so beautiful... too beautiful for a girl like her.

"Drew?" Jason asked. They'd stopped, and were looking at her. "You coming?"

Drew tucked her hands back in her pockets, stepping away from the boutique. "Yeah, I'm coming."

 **xXx**

M's Department Store was a large, glamorous building. Way more glamorous than Drew had imagined.

Jason frowned up at it, then directed his frown at Leo and Drew. "You sure this is it?"

Leo glanced below the fancy lettering of the sign on the small lawn. "M's Department Store, 530 Michigan Avenue. This is it."

Jason sighed. "Yeah, I figured. It just seems too..."

"Conspicuous?" Drew filled in. "You're not wrong. Most monsters like to lay low. Being flashy is more of the gods' type of thing."

Leo blew out a breath. "Well, what are we waiting for? Might as well get it over with."

The inside of the building was just as glamorous as the outside. The door let out a high-pitched _ding_ behind them as the door closed, a welcome that largely went ignored. The silver, tiled floor glittered, the occasional sparkles visible. Posters of models showing off the latest fashion and styles were pinned to the wall, and at the other side of the floor two escalators stood, one leading to the room they were standing in and the other leading up.

At the front desk, a girl looked up, pulling out her earbuds. There was nothing mysterious or monstrous about her; she looked to be college-aged or so, kind of plain, but pretty. Her smile lit up her face. "Hi, can I help you with anything?"

"No thanks," Drew managed to choke out. "We're okay."

The girl nodded, plugging back in one of the buds that had fallen. "Happy shopping."

They strode across the floor and up the escalator. Drew released an exhale she hadn't realized she'd been holding once they were out of hearing range. "This doesn't make any sense."

Jason looked to be just as bothered as her, though Drew guessed it was instinctive more than anything, while Leo only looked confused. "What?"

Drew shook her head. "Mortals," she said in a low voice. "That's... pretty rare. Not a monster's usual MO. I mean, it happens, but... not often." Drew doubted that the girl at the desk was the sole human employee here. "Paranoia, maybe," she muttered. "This doesn't feel right."

They'd reached the second floor. Drew stepped off the escalator, glancing at their surroundings. While the first floor had seemed to be comprised of clothing, this one was littered with various furniture. Anxiously, Drew's hand closed around the spare change in her coat pocket, fiddling around with it. Nothing in particular seemed to be amiss.

She turned to the other two. "Keep on the lookout," she murmured. As it seemed, she was the figurative mythological tour guide of this quest. It didn't bother her much, rather giving her the familiar feeling of smugness that had been missing the past two days. "The Mist can hide anything out of place. Try to focus as much as you can- it's harder to hide things from demigods than mortals."

They separated, each of them heading in different directions. Drew weaved around more than a few beds, casting them regretful glances. Compared to the hard metal shell of Festus, the fluffy sheets of those beds were temptations of Heaven. She shut down the growing urge to collapse on one of them, even if only for a second. If she sat down, she'd never get up, and she had more important things to do.

Seconds later Drew found herself at the back of the room, near the change rooms. She ran her fingers over the wall, searching for any discrepancies. She was glad the store was deserted, or else she would have received a couple of strange looks for certain.

After finding nothing, she walked over to the elevator, and scowled at the directory. It took some time, but after the letters had arranged themselves, Drew read through the list painstakingly. Nothing close to fantasy at all, just the usual department store crap.

Drew backed away, ready to give up and ask Leo and Jason if they'd had any results, when she glimpsed the right of her and blinked. The air there shimmered, like a heat wave; Drew stepped closer, knowing she shouldn't have, but curiosity won. She stared at the doors of a golden elevator, much different from the standard gray, steel-issue, and didn't turn around as she yelled, "Jason? Leo?"

They came running, the sound of their feet loud and frantic. "What?" Jason panted, once their sneakers had screeched to a stop. "You find something?"

Drew smiled grimly. "You got it," she said, pointing ahead of her.

The doors opened with a ping not too different from the entrance to the store. The low notes of a slow, romantic tune played from the speakers at the roof of the elevator. Drew settled against the silver railing, letting her shoulders relax from their tense position and tilting her head upwards.

Leo took a similar stance beside her, while Jason frowned at the buttons. "Which one?" he asked.

Unlike the normal one, their magical ride hadn't had a directory. Drew pursed her lips in thought. "What's that saying again?"

"When in doubt, start at the top?" Jason wondered.

"Not that one, but-" He pushed the button for the highest floor before she could finish, and Drew didn't bother to continue. "Or you can just do that, I guess. Whatever."

"Sorry," Jason said, without any remorse. He crossed his arms, eyebrows furrowed, his coin clenched tightly between his fingers.

Like him, Leo was gripping his only weapon- his tool belt. Drew didn't think it would help much if a situation arose, but she didn't bother voicing the thought.

Underneath her sweater, a pistol was tucked into her skirt, safety on and filled with Celestial Bronze bullets. Drew reached back and touched her fingertips to the gun-shaped bulge, then pulled them away. Hopefully, they wouldn't come across any antagonistic mortals. That would be... harder to deal with. She tugged at the collar of her jacket, wishing that it wasn't so hot. The sudden temperature change was hard to deal with, but Drew entertained the brief thought that maybe it was her own fear and anticipation playing tricks on her. Wouldn't be the first time.

The elevators opened, and they walked in willingly to what might have been their certain doom.

The sunlight coming through the painted glass mosaic windows spilled rainbow light over the floor, the type of art that you'd see in a church- except the figures weren't Jesus, but the various gods of the Greek pantheon. Stacked in shelves were various weapons from all over the world, liquids in glasses of various colours and sizes, the decorative shields on the walls framing it all. To the left of them, an escalator that too was golden lead to more floors, and more...

Drew swallowed. "What..." Who could have these kinds of resources? They definitely weren't dealing with the standard run-of-the-mill monster... but they couldn't leave. Not until they had answers.

"Hello!" A voice piped behind them. All three of them whirled around, weapons at the ready. A gorgeous woman stood, wearing an elegant black dress. Brown hair fell past her shoulders in soft curls, her dark eyes shining. Over her heart, the words _M's Department Store_ were emblazoned in silver. She had to at least be in her forties, but that didn't detract from her looks. No name-tag...

"Demigods, correct?" The woman opened her arms, smiling. "Welcome to M's Department store, where we fulfill all your godly needs. We've been waiting for you."

Oh, shit. Those kinds of words never meant well.

The woman snapped her fingers, calling out. "Lucy!"

A girl ducked out from the aisles of weapons, her eyes wide in surprise. She rushed up, carrying an armful of boxes. "Yes, manager?" A different employee from the one downstairs, another human- Drew's heart sank. Manipulated by the Mist, most likely.

"Help out these two gentlemen here, will you?" the manager asked, nodding her head at Jason and Leo.

"No, that's fine-" Jason started, but the manager cut him off. "No, I'd think the both of you would much rather like to check out some of our weapons, _wouldn't you_?"

Drew recognized the familiar tunes of charmspeak, but could say nothing- she was shocked into silence. She'd never heard such powerful charmspeak, from herself or Piper; this woman was talented, and if a Greek character, had centuries of practice. Drew's mouth went dry. This woman was leagues ahead of her, and although they had a natural resistance, even charmspeakers could be fooled.

Nothing Drew could say would stop this woman.

She watched as Lucy pulled her companions away, throwing Drew a strangely guilty look over her shoulder.

At least... with a mortal, they'd be in less danger than Drew currently was. Distantly, she realized her legs were quivering, the pounding of her heart blocking out every other sound.

The woman held out her hand in front of her. "Walk with me, daughter of Aphrodite."

 **xXx**

Drew followed the person who might have been- no, most likely was the mistress of the storm spirits numbly. She hadn't been given a reason to escape or pull out her gun yet- though she expected it was coming soon.

The manager of M's department store walked with her hands folded behind her back, humming to herself as she casually glanced over the floors they went up, maybe to check inventory. Drew didn't know. Obviously, there was a purpose to this, but the nature of that-

"Do you know who I am?" the woman asked, looking back at her. Hey eyes were curious, and gave away no glint of danger, if only for the moment.

Drew hesitated, then shook her head. "No. I haven't figured it out."

The woman hummed. Those strange notes, again. Drew listened as best she could, unable to decipher it. A... folk song, maybe? Or nursery rhyme. "Keep trying."

The next floor they landed on was different than the others.

The floor, ceiling and walls were a fathomless black, made of a metal that Drew didn't recognize, but one that made her knees more tired than they already were, slowed her heartbeat and her mind fuzzy. Stygian Iron, if she had to take a guess. For one to get their hands on that...

The ceiling was striped with fluorescent white lights at its edges, illuminating the path in front of them. Drew swallowed, her mouth a desert. Ice crawled up her spine, and she shivered. Distantly, she could hear... moaning? This wasn't right. All of her instincts screamed for her to get _away_.

As quietly as she could, Drew reached for her pistol, withdrawing it from her sweater as the woman continued walking in front, clueless. Drew didn't care who, or _what_ she was. She'd waited- no, refused to take action for long enough. Drew aimed at the back of the mistress's head. A nice, clean shot.

Before she could pull the trigger, her hand _burned_. Drew clutched at it, her mouth open in a wordless scream.

The woman had stopped, staring at her with cold and cruel eyes that resembled those of a snake, narrowed to slits. If she'd been Medusa, her gaze would have turned Drew to stone. "A poor attempt, child, but an attempt nonetheless. That's more than can be said for others."

The skin on her hand was already peeling, scarlet, and covered with welts- anything that had been in contact with her firearm. In front of her, smoke rose from the gun, mixing with the ventilated air. Drew stared at it, shaking, her heart now racing with terror.

"Follow me, girl," the woman said harshly. Her words were filled with disgust, like she couldn't be bothered to hide how she truly felt any longer. Drew shook her head, already knowing that what she said next would be futile.

"I'm not following you _anywhere_ ," she snapped, her voice quavering. "Find another lapdog." Drew struggled to her feet, her balance off. "I'm getting my friends, and I'm leaving." Like she could make demands. She was a child of Aphrodite, not some brave warrior kid of the Big Three. She had nothing fearful in her disposal other than her charmspeak, and now even that didn't help her. Still, a trembling sense of hope kept her talking. Stupid, how idiotic having faith that things would go right made you. At her side, her hand hung uselessly, sharp pain shooting up her arm.

" _You will follow me_." Her charmspeak pierced the air. Drew could do nothing but obey, her mind clouding more than it already had.

It got colder and colder the further they progressed down the long hallway. Her hand hurt a little less, as long as she didn't move her fingers more than necessary. Drew stared at their surroundings. "What... is this?" Her words were sluggish, her voice like a child's- high and quiet, scared, even through the magic numbing her thoughts and feelings. She felt like she was talking through cotton balls.

Around them, pods lined the floor. There had to be at least a hundred of them, Drew realized. They looked like something straight out of a sci-fi novel. "From a spaceship," Drew whispered to herself, and giggled, delirious from both the charmspeak and pain.

After she kept stopping to talk to herself, laughing, the woman had to take her good hand and lead her along. Drew kept giggling like a drunk, and in the far recesses of her mind knew that the only thing stopping her from turning into a complete robot was that she possessed the same power.

"Hey, miss..." Drew slurred. "You don't happen to be a daughter of Aphrodite, do you?"

The woman glanced back at her, disdainful. "No." A few more steps, Drew stumbling. The woman laughed, and it was a harsh, mean sound. "You know, it's strange- no, quite funny, actually, how your society works."

"What?" Drew asked blankly, but the woman kept talking.

"War, discrimination, violence; the castes of your people, the rich and poor-" She shook her head. "Not too different from Greece. Humankind never changes." Her gaze was almost longing, before it glazed over with an expressionless cover. "Do you know what the rate of the missing in your country is?"

Drew opened her mouth, but the woman didn't allow her to speak. "I'd imagine not." They'd reached the end of the hall. She waved a hand over the path they walked, lingering on the pods. "At any given time, about ninety-thousand people are missing in the United States. Fifty thousand of those adults, thirty thousand of those children." She tilted her head, tapping her chin in consideration. "Obviously, we aren't responsible for all of that, but we are responsible for some."

As the effects of the charmspeak gradually faded, Drew's horror grew. She stared at the pods as the realization sank in, fully snapped out of her daze. "Are you telling me there are..."

The woman arched an elegant eyebrow, looking away. "Take a look for yourself."

Drew walked to the closest pod slowly, ready to snap at the slightest provocation from the woman. She wiped her sleeve over the condensation that fogged the material of whatever the pod was made from- it felt like glass. Once she'd dried enough, droplet still on the fabric of her jacket, she peered in-

To see a pale, still face, only separated from her by the thin substance of the pod. She fell back with a yelp, barely managing not to land flat on her ass.

"Cryogenics. Impressive technology these days," the woman said, looking rather unimpressed. "They're sleeping, not dead. Nothing to raise your hackles about."

The pain returned once the shock faded, and Drew pushed back a grimace, regaining her footing. The moaning was louder in noise now, and Drew stared at the wall in front of them. A dead end, which didn't explain the sounds.

"There's more." The woman pressed one of the tiles on the wall. A symbol glowed in light blue, a circle, with two lines crossing inside horizontally and vertically. A crack appeared, running straight through, and the wall slid open, separating into two.

"Do you know what alchemy is, child?" the woman asked, beckoning for Drew to fall into step beside her. Drew shrugged, unwilling to hazard a guess.

"In the old days, people thought it was the key to divine powers," she said. "Later, gold, and then an elixir. A way to play God, if you would."

The room was filled with cages and vats and large glass cylinders hanging from the ceiling, filled with a strange liquid. In the cage to the left of them, a girl sitting in the corner, her blond hair limp and straggly, stared at Drew- no, stared through her. She wasn't seeing Drew at all. Not really.

"W-What is this?" Drew stammered. Without her gun and disabled, she couldn't attempt to attack the woman. Or even run away, lest she set Drew's legs on fire instead.

A smile played on the woman's lips. "Subjects," she said, "Tests. The next advance of evolution. It's all so _grand_ , isn't it?"

Without any other alternative, Drew followed the woman, her hands trembling. A man rattled the bars of his cage with wild eyes- screaming, no, _begging_ for her to help, before he dissolved into sobs. Drew could do nothing but keep walking. In a tube, a boy with wings crudely attached to his spine floated, curled in the fetal position, his thumb in his mouth like a baby. More and more mutations, pleading people, _abominations_ \- the back of Drew's eyes heated.

 _Don't cry. Don't cry._

Finally, they came across a golden cage with a satyr inside. He sat slumped on its base. The satyr looked up and noticed Drew, his eyes widening. "Tanaka-?"

"Hedge?" she repeated, just as confounded. At the campfire, Jason had relayed the story of how he'd been captured by storm spirits- dead for sure, Drew had thought. Obviously not.

He leaped to his hooves, reaching for her. "You can't trust this woman," he hissed. "She's Med-"

The woman snapped her fingers and Gleeson Hedge's mouth slammed shut. "That would be enough."

 _Medea_ , Drew's mind finished for her. _She's Medea._ The enchantress who'd helped Jason and the Argonauts.

Medea studied Drew, and turned back to the satyr. She waved a hand over him, muttering under her breath, and a gray sheen began to spread over his skin- stone. The Coach realized what was happening before Drew did, his gaze piercing. "Get out of here, before-"

He stopped, unable to speak. Inanimate. A statue.

"Saying something like that," Medea began in distaste, "Does not go without punishment. I'd have preferred you to figure it out for yourself."

Drew stared at the gorgeous sorceress, stunned. "Why... why have you shown me this? All of this?"

Medea moved forward, back towards the hall with the sleeping mortals. " _Come_." Without her will, Drew's feet followed.

This time, she retained some semblance of herself. "Doing all this..." she gritted out from her teeth, unable to vanquish Coach Hedge from her mind. "Why? What's the point?"

Medea waited until they'd began to descend down the escalator before she answered. "What's the point of anything?" she asked, tapping red nails on the inside of her elbow. She tilted her head. "To experiment, I suppose. Change the boundaries of our world... this equilibrium, between those who are mortal and those who are not."

"There's a balance for a reason," Drew snapped. "You can't just _change_ things however you see fit."

Medea raised an eyebrow. "I can't?" she repeated, mockingly. "Who says? The Olympians? Child, if you believe in their rule, you are a fool."

 _I don't_ , Drew thought, but knew better than to say it aloud. "At least answer my first question."

"I have the gift of prophecy," Medea said. "I can see many futures at once, different timelines. Limited, but you... you are unusual. Of all the possibilities, the most unlikely, yet... here you are. Do you know why that is?"

Drew said nothing. Medea hummed in agreement. "Neither do I. The Fates work in mysterious ways, that is for certain. But you, demigod-" Her eyes glittered. "If you escape this place unscathed, your future is no doubt... interesting. As is your past. Perhaps I wanted to show you... a little of what is to come. Compared to your brethren, you are an anomaly."

They were back to the first floor that the Mist had hidden, and Drew still had no idea how to get away. From the corner of her eye, she tried to look out for Leo and Jason, then looked back to Medea, the brunt of the sorceress's words finally hitting her.

"...My past?" Drew said. Bitterness slipped into her tone. "Interesting?"

A song floated past Medea's parted, blood-red lips, low and gentle. The same song she'd been singing earlier.

" _Mori mo iyagaru, bon kara saki-nya_ ," Medea sang, in soft, sweet lilting Japanese.

Drew's heart stopped. She felt her blood drain from her face. "What?" she croaked. "How did you..."

Medea smiled, no doubt amused of Drew's devastated expression.

 _Run. Run away, find Leo and Jason, **now**._

She only made it a few steps before Medea lurched towards her, hand outstretched, her nails like talons as she grasped Drew's head.

Immediately, flashes.

 _There was nothing we could do-_

 _Silena's dead-_

 _She was courageous, and beautiful, a daughter and sister that you would be-_

 _Listen to me, Drew-_

 _You want to hear a story-_

 _I hate you._

Drew heaved before she could stop herself, emptying the little food she'd eaten onto the floor. She gasped, unable to control her breathing as she clawed at her scalp, tears streaming down her face. Sweat trickled over her forehead. "What... what was..."

Medea looked down at her, cocking her head, her face blank. "Your memories. Do you know what makes a person, girl?"

She walked over to the railing to peer down at the floor below, hands clasped at her back. "Your experiences, your pain, your happiness, your selfishness... All is what makes a person. Rather simple, in truth. Without those, what would you be?"

"Nothing," Drew murmured.

Medea seemed pleased. "Right."

At that moment, Medea's employee came back into sight, Jason and Leo behind her, looking confused. Jason saw her first- instantly, worry and anger sparked, and he ran to her, helping her up. His eyes were a dark, stormy blue- fire, as he glowered at Medea. For a second, Drew's heart rate spiked from its already fast pace. It was the predatory glare of a wolf; an alpha protecting its pack.

"What did you do?" he growled.

Medea shook her head, ignoring the unspoken threat. "Like this boy, _Jason_ ," she snarled. "Once a brave warrior, the son of Jupiter, the _golden_ child. And now, without his memories- _nothing_."

Jason's expression faltered. For once, his feelings were raw and visible. Sadness, frustration, and... loss. It made him look years younger.

Drew clutched at his sleeve with her ruined hand, ignoring the aftershocks from the action. "She's Medea- we have to, we have to get out of here- this isn't a fight that we can win."

Leo was beside them now, a hammer in his hand. "You sure about that, Drew?" His face was fierce, determined- it was a look that seemed out of place. He shouldn't have been able to form such a glare, not Leo, who was always smiles and laughter.

She was dizzy, everything- everything was spinning. "Go," she muttered, her voice fading in and out of her ears. "We gotta go-" Her vision was fuzzy, black and white- an old TV, static.

"Sorry, Drew. That's not happening." Jason flipped his coin, catching it as a lance, its light blinding. Drew stared at it with half-lidded eyes. She wanted to go home, she wanted to cry, she just wanted to _die-_

Medea's face glowed with a kaleidoscope pattern from the light the windows cast. " _Stand still_."

The life faded from Jason and Leo's bodies before they could even move. They stood, weapons at the ready, without motion. Toy soldiers, like the ones Drew used to play with at Christmas time, in her purple dress, like the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Medea walked over to one of the weapon displays, withdrawing a knife- wicked and sharp, the same material as Jason's weapon, with an ivory handle and held to the hilt by a ring of silver. Through her haze, Drew recognized it; a ceremonial knife, the Roman Secéspita. For sacrifice.

The sorceress examined the weapon, turning it over carefully in her fingers. "If memories are what make a person, I suppose you could say my history is why I am here today. I helped the first Jason and the Argonauts obtain the Golden Fleece, in return for my hand in marriage. Not long after, we married, not because of _real_ love- no, the whims of your mother, playing her usual tricks. I might have loved him, though, in time. But it was not a long marriage." She twirled the knife, a dangerous game- too easy to cut or stab yourself. "I helped them, lead them into the grove where the fleece was kept. I kept my promise. In return, Jason murdered my brother, and found another woman to marry, just to please a _king_."

Medea's eyes had a mad gleam as she glanced back to Drew. "Children. We'd had our own sons and daughters... But in the future the king had offered him, there was no room for us. So I did what was natural, what any other person would have done. _His_ children... I killed them, for their own benefit. They were not any child of mine." The words seemed haunted, almost. The justifications of a psychopath. "Would you like to see..."

She stepped over to Leo, pressing the secéspita into his hand in exchange for the hammer.

"...How I killed his children?"

* * *

 **Ending note:**

This chapter is a little over 7,000 words. I know readers tend to prefer long chapters, but if you're not that type, please be patient with me, because lbr; the chapters will only be getting longer.

I can't say I'm entirely pleased with this chapter, but once I progress further into the story I might clean it up a little. Anyways, guys, please read and review! Even if it's not criticism or constructive, a little comment saying that you enjoyed the chapter helps- motivation _always_ helps.

Also, to explain everything:

If it wasn't clear, at the end of the chapter, Drew's starting to have a little meltdown. Reliving your worst memories will do that to you.

Medea's motivation/characterization might seem confusing, but I promise there's a reason. She's really the calculating type, and not the person to play all her cards at once, I think, in the way I imagine her from reading the myths. Especially considering that she can see the future. Her lab will also have an explanation later, I swear.

I just want to clarify, in case you guys found this line confusing as well: _Leo was beside them now, a hammer in his hand. "You sure about that, Drew?" His face was fierce, determined- it was a look that seemed out of place. He shouldn't have been able to form such a glare, not Leo, who was always smiles and laughter._ Leo was a street kid, running away constantly- life on the streets is definitely not glamorous, and if it came to a situation he'd be far from rainbows and sunshine, IMO. My own personal interpretation, and something that may differ from canon- but considering the various characters' histories, in reality, they'd definitely have somewhat darker aspects of their personalities.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hi again, ya'll... I meant to post this, like, three days ago, but I just couldn't get around to doing it. Hopefully, I'll be able to post another chapter on the weekend. Anyways, for now, you can have this one!

 **Irwin2000:** Thank you! I'm glad you find her more dangerous than in the books; that's what I was hoping for. And there will be more monsters, I promise.

 **not for granted:** Thanks for your compliments! Yes, I'm hoping it will be; though tbh, you won't see the fruits of it come to fruition for a while. (Till like, post SON timeline, lmao.) And I'm really really glad that you think I've raised the stakes.

 **BlackAndSilverMonkey:** Thank you :D And I will!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Hoo. All belongs to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

 **{5.}**

Leo didn't remember much of what happened during the brief period he was under Medea's freaky mind control.

Drew hadn't explained much of what had occurred than what was necessary. Now, she waded ahead of them in the sewers, the light of her phone a steady beacon in the dark. ("Look, I know what camp says, but _come on-_ it's absolutely necessary.")

Leo recognized refusal to talk when he saw it; Drew hadn't said it, but it was clear in her eyes. Something had happened that'd fucked her up, if the state he and Jason had found her in hadn't been enough a tell. Her face looked ghastly in the bluish-glow of her phone, her eyes bloodshot and her once formerly glossy curls hanging past her shoulders limply.

What Leo remembered:

Drew tugging he and Jason across the magical floor of Medea's Department Store, two dragons roaring in their wake. The last words of the mortal who'd worked for Medea, who'd tried to escape with them in the elevator only to be grabbed by one of the dragons. _Beware the monsters_ , she'd said, with large, terror-filled eyes as the monster's talons dug into her stomach, causing red to bloom across her white uniform before it dragged her away.

He'd never be able to forget her face.

Leo stumbled, and regained his balance, swallowing. In front of them, Drew paused.

"Maybe we should take a break," she said dully, lowering her phone. She sounded dead.

"Yeah, maybe," Jason said, who'd also been quiet since the department store.

They found a small nook away from the path and most of the smell of rot and sewage. Drew slid down the wall until her knees were pressed to her chest, her head and shoulders slumping. Her hand hung off her knee. Jason gaped at it, not that Leo could see why; the dark obscured pretty much everything.

"Your _hand_ ," Jason snapped, and then took a noticeable effort to restrain himself. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked, a little softer, as he kneeled in front of her and took it gently in his own larger ones.

Drew winced, and proceeded to stare at it blankly. "I forgot," she stated plainly.

It might have been funny, if the burn on her hand wasn't so bad; as he stepped closer, the wound was easier to see. Jason's irritated worry was understandable. The same kind of worry he now started to feel fill him.

Jason looked up at her, exasperated. "You can't _forget_ about a second-degree burn."

Drew shrugged, smirking weakly. "I did."

Jason sighed, moving to open his bag and rifle through for what Leo guessed was healing supplies. Out of his own tool belt, he pulled out some gauze, taking a seating position beside Jason.

Jason pulled out a canteen. "Nectar," he said, sounding uncertain. "Foods of the gods. Healing for demigods, but too much can..."

"Kill you," Drew finished. "Yeah, I know. Just pour it over my hand already."

He trickled a small stream of it over the burn. Most of the wound closed, already scabbing over, but the remainder of it was still there. Leo passed the gauze to Jason, who wrapped it around Drew's hand carefully.

After, Drew flexed it, turning her hand over under a watchful gaze. She lifted her head, beaming. "See? Good as new."

The change of mood was a little alarming. Over the past two days, Leo had gotten to know the daughter of Aphrodite a little better. She tended to go through emotions like the flicker of a switch; if he wasn't careful with his words, it was easy to set her off. But from what he knew, demigods tended to have problems (much less himself) so it wasn't as if he could judge. Not that he would have, regardless.

If Leo admitted it to himself, he had grown kind of fond of her. She was an okay person, once you got past the initial snarky and cold exterior. After a couple hours' worth of conversations between the three of them, he'd realized that.

"You say that now..." Jason muttered, sighing again, his eyes downcast. They were stern as they met Drew's. "Take a nap."

Drew's mouth fell open. "What? But-"

The look on his face promptly shut her up. "You need it, _way_ more than I do."

Drew's expression wavered between uncertainty and protest, no words leaving her parted lips.

Jason's voice softened. "If you look like you're having a nightmare, I'll wake you up. Promise."

"...Fine," Drew groused, shifting to the corner of the nook. She linked her arms under her knees, pressing her face against them. She looked up at them through half-lidded eyes and the bangs that fell into them. "Don't let me sleep too long."

She faded out quickly. Once he was sure she was asleep, Leo glanced at Jason. "What do you think she did to her?"

"Medea?" Jason asked. "Who knows." He frowned at Drew's sleeping form. "If she wants to tell us what happened, she will. Otherwise..."

Leo exhaled. "Yeah, I know."

He let his head fall back against the black brick wall, staring at the faint light that emanated from the path, its origin probably an opening to the world above them. Distantly, he could hear the noise of pedestrians and traffic.

"...Would Medea really let us escape, with that little effort?" Jason asked.

 _Little?_ Leo hadn't realized that in Jason's dictionary, dragons and magic fit the definition of "little". He refrained from being sarcastic or making a joke, as much as he'd have liked to lighten the somber mood. Jason was staring at him seriously, his lips pulled down in a frown. Not as if he didn't have the answer to his question, but as if he was just waiting for confirmation.

Leo played with the whistle hanging around his neck. He'd already tried using it to call Festus, like he'd trained him, but... it hadn't worked. Something had happened that impeded the metal dragon from following. Luckily, he'd had the foresight to install a tracker just in case Festus went haywire again, but now they were stuck wandering the sewers- much more dangerous than walking in the city, Leo reckoned.

"No. I doubt it," Leo said. He rolled his shoulders, grimacing at the ache in them. "Shouldn't we just stick to walking in actual civilization?"

Jason looked down at the hands folded in his lap. "I don't want to risk it, if Medea's still looking for us," he said. "The mortals... I don't think Medea or any other monsters have any morals that stop them from killing just about... anyone."

The memory of Medea's mortal employee was fresh enough. "True."

Jason pulled in his feet, crossing his legs underneath him. He rested his chin in his palm, staring at the wall, like there was something to see there other than cockroaches and graffiti. "I don't know. I mean, I don't know _anything_. If I had my memories back, then maybe, but... What if I attack you? With my memories, what if I'm really-"

He cut himself off, his voice trembling, as if he was on the verge of tears. Leo could fill in the blanks: _what if I'm really an enemy._ It put him at a loss. In the past- well, his _fake_ past at the Wilderness School, Jason had never been this vulnerable. Always the strong, charismatic jock, who could think of a solution to any problem that faced him. Leo couldn't even remember seeing him sad once. And now the real Jason was with him, the human, not the glorified image given to him by Hera.

"Maybe," Leo said. Jason's eyes drooped- pained, as he averted his gaze from Leo's. "But I don't think it really matters."

Jason blinked at him. "What?"

Leo fiddled with his hands, curling a wire around his fingers. Fixing machines was easy. Fixing _people_ , on the other hand... was significantly not.

"Without your memories, I don't think you're _nothing_ ," Leo said. He wished he was sitting closer, so he could punch Jason in the shoulder. "You're still _you_ , memories or not... Your body can't just forget the things you've always done. And your morals, values... whatever they were, they're still there."

For a few moments, Jason was silent. Finally, he smiled at Leo. His eyes were still sad. "Thank you."

Leo leaned back, releasing a small laugh. "No problem. Can't say I'm known for my motivational speeches." He smoothed his face into something resembling seriousness. "Now it's your turn to go to sleep."

Jason opened his mouth, but Leo held up his hand. "No buts. Don't you know what sleep deprivation can do? You _are_ the leader of this quest, Jason." He sniffed. "Not sleeping would be irresponsible. And downright weird, to be honest. Who doesn't like sleep?"

The corners of Jason's mouth quirked up. "Okay, I will."

He curled up against the wall across from Drew, using his backpack as a pillow. He fell asleep even faster than she had.

Leo rolled his eyes, blowing out a breath. _Honestly_ _._

Unfortunately, silence meant more time to stew in his own thoughts. The smile fell from his lips.

The goddess they were supposed to save, Hera... The same woman as Tia Callida, his old babysitter, if she could even be called that. He had no interest in saving her from a fate she most likely deserved.

After the Boreads, he'd been beginning to regret his decision to join the quest. If he was honest, he'd only come along for the ride- him, Jason and Piper. Just the three of them, like old times- even if Jason didn't remember them, even if that history had never existed at all. He'd looked at it like something of a second chance, ignoring the dangers that came along with it. It had been as clear as the open sky to him; this was an opportunity, to get close to Jason and Piper again. To have the friends he'd never had for years.

Now, he realized how ignorant he'd been. Stupid sentimentalities, regardless of how much he truly cared for the two. One of the first rules of the streets he'd learned, since he'd been an eight year-old boy sleeping in alleys surviving on spare change and hot dogs from the occasional vendor; don't take unnecessary risks. Learn about a situation before you walk into it. And he'd broken it. Stupid.

The quest hadn't even turned out like it had in his imaginations and daydreams. Piper wasn't here, and Jason was practically a stranger. Nothing had changed. In the end, he was still alone.

He could still remember the way Drew looked at him back on Festus, for once sincere. _This isn't a world with choices, Leo. Especially when it comes to the Olympians. You'll understand that soon enough._

What Drew had spoken of was obligations, and obligations were a dangerous thing. They had a tendency to get you hurt, and if it came to it, killed. He'd seen it happen enough times as a runaway.

He opened his hand, and a ball of fire sparked to life above his palm. For a gift that had taken too many precious things, its glow was strangely comforting.

Drew was the first to wake up. She stared at him blearily, then around them. "We're still here?" she asked, her voice carrying the faint rasp that came with sleep. "Great. Thought it was just a nightmare."

Leo smiled tiredly. "I wish."

She rubbed at her neck, wincing, and then glared at the concrete they were sitting on. "I can't even remember why I wanted to come on this quest anymore," she grumbled. "Must have been a stupid reason."

Something he could agree on, pertaining to himself.

"...Drew," he asked, hesitant. She looked back at him blankly. "Just how dangerous is this quest? Honestly."

She arched a brow. "You're asking me? Really?"

"You've lived with this stuff for years, haven't you?" Leo said. "I'd bet Jason has too, but given the amnesia and all..."

Drew muttered something to herself, then sighed. "You want my honest opinion? Fine. I don't know."

At the look on his face, she shook her head. "Really, I don't. Here's the thing, Leo." She rubbed her cheek with her thumb, her eyes dark. "Even the most innocent of quests can be the most dangerous. It depends on what's involved, because immortals always need pawns to play their games- and, well, we're the pieces on their chessboard. And what do we already have? A primordial and an army of giants. Who knows what else."

She shook her head slowly. "Play our cards right, and we might get out of this alive. Hard to say about whatever else comes after this."

He recalled the looks on his siblings' faces when he'd gone back to the cabin in the dawn before they left; their faces had been pitying, some already mourning. Any demigods that were long accustomed to this life hadn't looked like they'd had much hope for their sad little trio.

"...At first, I thought this might have been easy," Drew said. "I mean, we had a son of Zeus on our side, right? We'd be fine; nothing really challenges a child of the Big Three." Again, she sighed. "Dumb. So dumb. Never put so much faith in the powers that be, even in their offspring. Take it from me; gods will always find a way to disappoint you. Always."

 _Amen to that_ , Leo thought, thinking of his own father.

"Anyways, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Drew said. "Too much thinking gets you scared, and fear gets you killed. We'll burn that bridge when we get into it."

Leo shot her an exasperated look. "Burning our bridges implies failure."

Drew's face grew irritated. "Okay, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Whatever. You know what I mean, no need to get technical."

Leo held back a laugh as Drew scowled at him. Really, she was pretty fun to tease.

Suddenly, Drew's scowl dropped, grief and anger taking its place. "Shit! I completely forgot," she growled, slamming a fist into her forehead.

"What?" Leo asked, more than slightly alarmed.

Drew's gaze was full of sympathy when she looked at him. Bad news. "Your teacher, Coach Hedge..." A shuddering breath. "Medea had him, locked in a cage. Turned him to stone. I couldn't..."

 _Huh?_ Leo stared at her, uncomprehending.

"He's dead?"

Drew winced. "I don't... I don't know. I'm sorry, Leo."

Leo didn't blame her. He'd completely forgotten about the satyr himself. Instantly, shame coursed through his body, hot and burning, like flames. Coach Hedge, for all his flaws, hadn't been that bad of a teacher. And he'd sacrificed his life for them...

How dare Leo forget.

His nails bit into his palms. There was no turning back now. Too late to return to Medea's lair, and too late for Gleeson Hedge.

"It's not your fault," he said. His words had an unintended effect, a glint of guilt appearing in Drew's eyes, but Leo couldn't think of anything to say to erase it. For once, he couldn't find any humour in the situation.

Jason stirred only seconds after; with a little more finesse than Drew had used, Leo explained Coach Hedge's "state" to him.

Jason paled, now looking wide awake. Briefly, Leo felt bad. In the first few moments Jason had been awake, he'd been completely innocent, yawning... Like a kid. Like a normal, human kid, which none of them were.

"He's not living, but he's not dead either?" Jason said.

Drew shrugged. "I don't know," she said. She sounded exhausted, and not just physically. "Stasis is the word for it, I guess."

"Well, we..." Jason seemed lost. "We can always come back with more people, right? After. I mean, he wasn't the only prisoner, after all."

Drew blinked. "I guess. But what I saw, it wasn't... it's bigger than us. I don't think..."

She trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. "After."

Leo stood up, tracker in his hands. "We should head out," he said. "Find Festus, get out of Chicago, and reach Aeolus."

"But the information Medea gave me, her tip- is it even right?" Drew asked numbly. "For all we know, it could be a trap."

"No... wait," Jason said. "The vapor trails- I couldn't sense them before up on the surface, but down here, they're _everywhere._ " His face was grim. "Some of them lead to Medea, but some of them..."

"Also lead to Aeolus," Leo said. He raised his eyes from the tracker to look at Jason. "You think you can get us there?"

"Definitely," Jason said, rising to his feet.

Still on the ground, Drew looked up at them, her face a cross between fatigue and a sneer. "Great. Well, I guess all that's left is to find our big golden magical dragon, and then we're _all_ set."

 **xXx**

They made their way through the dirty underground of Chicago, the pounding of their feet on the ground loud in the echo of the tunnels. Every so often, a rat or cockroach skittered by, squeaking; every time, they jumped, Drew frantically pointing the light of her phone at the source.

"This has to stop," Drew grumbled, the fifth time it happened. "We can't be jumping at every little bug or rat that passes. They're not even a _threat_."

Leo shook a centipede off his shoe, his face twisted in disgust. "Doesn't make them any less nasty."

Jason was too focused on invisible trails to comment. The red dot pointing to Festus's location on his tracker blinked. Leo squinted at it. "Just a little bit further, I think."

"By 'a little bit further', you mean a few hours, right?" Drew sighed. "I almost wish something could attack us. Might make this a little less _boring_."

"Be careful what you wish for," Jason said. Had to be the first time he'd spoken up in an hour.

"Any luck?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I can figure out where we're going once we get out of the city. Medea said..." Jason glanced at Drew. "That we'd find Aeolus in Colorado?"

Drew inclined her head in agreement. Her voice lowered as she spoke. "She... probably knew about your ability, and figured we'd need to rely on it from there. I just don't..." She shook her head, stopping herself before she finished the thought.

"There's another thing," Leo said. Jason and Drew both looked at him, curious. He bit his lip.

"That mortal, the one working for Medea- before she died, she said-"

Jason's eyes lit up as he remembered. "' _Beware the monsters_.'" He ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. "Do you think... in the sewers?"

Leo shrugged, worrying his lip between his teeth. He began to taste the faint metallic rust of blood. "Who knows. But I guess that means one more enemy to watch for."

"So nothing out of the ordinary, then," Drew said. "That doesn't really change anything." Her face told a different story.

"Dunno," Leo said. "It seems kind of... foreboding."

" _Whoo_. Big words, Leo. Where'd you find that, a thesaurus?" Drew raised an eyebrow, stepping over the dead body of... something.

"More like sixth grade English." He frowned, looking ahead of them. "Dead end. We'd better turn back."

They all turned to retrace their steps, before Drew stopped. "H-Hold up a s-second," she stammered, shining her light on something, her appearance ghoulish in the illumination it provided. "W...What? No way..."

The dead face of a boy stared back at them, his eyes and mouth wide open in a final expression of terror. His lower half...

There was no lower half.

Vomit burned its way through his throat. Leo stumbled to the side, puking.

When he finished, he looked down... to see that he was standing in a pool of blood.

Leo fell, landing on his back, and scrambled away from the congealing red liquid. "F-Fuck," he breathed, shallow. "Fuck."

Drew looked sick, her face white. "I think we found our monster." She closed her eyes. "He hasn't decomposed, not much... Less than twenty-four hours."

Jason was completely still, staring down blankly at the corpse. "He's wearing armour," he said flatly. "Golden armour."

He was right. Ignoring the bile rising again, Leo looked at the boy for as long as he could manage. His breastplate was from the same metal as Jason's sword/lance.

Drew didn't look far from the edge of hyperventilation, but she covered her mouth and stepped away. "Imperial Gold," she murmured. "A Roman demigod."

A demigod who'd met a bad end. Was this what Camp Half-Blood tried to protect half-bloods from? Leo had never imagined that their fates could be so... grisly.

Words poured out of Jason's mouth, incomprehensible at first- Latin, Leo realized. But he recognized the low lilt Jason used, his quiet way of speaking- forlorn, mourning. A final blessing.

After he finished, Jason looked up. "...Cremation," he said, not meeting their eyes. "You're supposed to cremate the body."

Leo's hand twitched. _Could he...?_

No. He wouldn't. Not when there was a chance that Leo could lose control, kill the both of them. That would...

Drew moved closer to the corpse. With trembling fingers, she leaned down, closing the boy's eyes and then placing two golden coins- drachmas, on his lids.

"I don't know how it works for Romans," she said quietly. "But..." She wiped something from her cheek. "For safe passage to the Underworld."

They left, but not before Leo spotted the shoe a few feet away from the boy's body. A white sneaker, splattered with red.

Long minutes after they'd left the boy behind them, Leo and Drew were still shaken. Jason, on the other hand...

He walked with a stiff back, broad shoulders tense. Even with the poor lighting, Leo could tell his bright eyes had darkened to a stormy blue. He clenched his coin tightly in his fingers, knuckles pale; Leo knew that if these "monsters" ever came into sight, Jason would be the first one ready for the slaughter. And knowing the son of Jupiter, the one to finish it as well.

Leo wondered if the boy had been one of Jason's comrades- friends, maybe. Did Jason remember him?

Who knew. Jason had always been someone who locked his secrets deep in his heart- if there was anything the Mist hadn't faked in Leo's memories, it was that. If Jason didn't think it was necessary... he wouldn't share. Not more than he needed to. Especially if he thought it would affect others.

Suddenly, Jason stopped. Both Leo and Drew bumped into his back, but he didn't budge. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. "Something's coming."

"What-?" Leo asked. He couldn't hear anything.

Jason was already moving away from them, spreading his feet apart and squaring his shoulders. He flipped his coin, catching it as a lance and positioning it over his shoulder, tip facing outwards. The warmth and confusion had completely left his eyes, now cold and calculating. He reminded Leo of the warriors on ancient ceramic vases, forever poised for battle.

And poised for battle he was, when a gigantic wolf tore from the darkness, pouncing at them with claws outstretched, roaring as its mouth revealed long, pointed canines, ready to tear them to pieces.

Immediately, Jason pierced his lance through its shoulder, like a fisherman spearing his lucky catch. He retracted it out of the wolf just as quickly.

The beast tumbled to the side, whimpering. If it'd been expecting one thing, an angry demigod hadn't been it, Leo thought to himself, holding back hysterical laughter. If it hadn't been for Jason's abnormal instincts or senses, whatever had clued him into the wolf's presence, Leo and Drew would have been fresh meat.

"Is that it?" Jason hissed from between his teeth, after a few moments that felt like hours passed. He remained in his stance, lance at the ready for the next enemy that crawled from the dark. "That _can't_ be all."

At first, Leo mistook his words for caution. Once he'd glimpsed Jason's expression-

His lips curled back in a wolfish grin or sneer; Leo couldn't tell. His voice was a low growl, his eyes glittering with _something_.

He was bloodthirsty, Leo realized with a start. _Looking_ for a fight. A predator hunting for its prey.

This wasn't a Jason that Leo knew. This wasn't a Jason he remembered.

Jason was the calm one, the friend Leo could forever count on to pull him out of trouble. He settled fights, never _started_ them. He was always- always-

Fake. It was all fake.

Leo took a step back, trembling.

At that moment, Jason finally noticed them. Jason's gaze switched from Drew, who seemed just as shocked as Leo felt, to him. Eyes widening, he blinked, still staring at Leo. He straightened, lowering his lance, looking like a child who didn't know what they'd done wrong. "I-"

At that second, a hulking shadow appeared behind Jason. Leo shot forward, mouth open in a yell of warning- it was already too late. The shadow stabbed a syringe into the juncture between Jason's neck and shoulder, and pressed down, injecting the liquid inside into Jason. In mere moments, Jason's eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped, the shadow catching him before he could fall.

Before Leo could do anything, a sharp pain in his arm, and then-

Unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Ending note:**

Okay, compared to the last chapter, this one was pretty short. But if my estimate is about right, the next chapter should be around the same length as chapter four. This chapter was slow as well, but I guess you could call it a "breather" chapter. Not too much action, at least not yet.

I'm also debating whether I should raise the rating of the story to an M (there will be more death and gore to come, I won't lie) but we'll see where that goes. Thanks for reading the story, guys, and R & R, please!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** At all the people who reviewed last chapter, thank you! The comments really help.

Sorry, I wasn't able to update last weekend b/c of schoolwork (so this chapter wasn't finished). :/ But anyways, here it is now! Please enjoy.

* * *

 **{6.}**

When Leo drifted back to consciousness, he was hanging upside down.

"...What," he said flatly, his arms hanging past his head. Beside him, also upside-down, Jason was still gone from the land of the living.

Leo tried to turn his head, his movements sluggish. Drew greeted him with a mirthless smile. "Evening, Leo." Unlike him and Jason, she hung from her wrists, bound with duct tape and attached by rope to an opening- a storm drain above. Leo figured that his feet were tied to the same spot; they were a few feet above the ground.

Leo tried to move his hands, before realizing they were latched together with the same material as Drew's binds. "Damn," he hissed, and reached for his tool belt- gone. A spark of panic flared, and his arms fell back down uselessly.

" _Well_ , look who's finally awake," a voice drawled.

Leo startled- if he was standing, he would have jumped. His eyes searched frantically for the source, and found it; a teenager leaning against the wall, away from the few beams of light that penetrated into the sewers. Leo could only make out the bare outlines of him form in the shadows, but from the sound of his voice, the kid wasn't much older than them.

"Who..." Leo rasped, and coughed, clearing his throat. "Who the hell are you?"

The kid snorted, and stepped into view.

He had a head of tangled black hair, his bangs falling into his eyes- golden, Leo realized- and a splash of freckles across his cheeks. The leather jacket he wore almost seemed too big from him. His jeans were ripped, but it didn't seem to be deliberate; more from being worn so many times... like a street kid. He couldn't have been older than seventeen.

 _Unless he's a monster_ , Leo thought, flexing his wrists.

Jason groaned, finally coming to. He blinked slowly, looking side to side. "Leo... Drew...?" he murmured, and then his eyes flew open in alarm, as if just realizing the position they were in. For a moment, he struggled, before falling still. "Shit."

The kid looked smug. "And you're a child of... Zeus?" He sneered, revealing unusually sharp canines. "And here I was, thinking you'd be a _challenge_."

Jason's lips curled back in a humorless grin. "You sure talk big for someone who had to knock me out and tie me up. Give me a fair fight, and we'll see about _that_."

The kid rolled his eyes. "A win's a win, and I'm not stupid. That's not happening."

Jason shrugged. "Was worth a try." Leo wondered how he could be so nonchalant in a situation like this.

"How did you even find us?" Drew asked. _Stalling for time_ , Leo thought, so that he or Jason could get out or maybe to find the perfect opportunity to use her charmspeak. She bit her lip, her eyes welling; if he hadn't known her, Leo might have fallen for the damsel-in-distress act.

"You left _this_ behind," the boy said, raising a black object in his hand- Drew's gun.

Her mouth fell open at the sight of it, her act disappearing in the midst of her surprise. "How did you-"

The kid winked. "Let's just say I have a good nose." He walked closer, tossing the weapon in his hand, uncaring for the possibility that the gun might go off. "Medea put a good price on your heads if I found you." He stepped up to Jason, pushing the muzzle of the pistol against his forehead. Jason didn't seem to be affected by the threat at all, glaring back fiercely. "Double if I _kill_ you. Which one do you think is the better deal, hmm?"

 _I?_ Leo thought. That didn't make sense. If Jason had been taken out by the person in front of them, he and Drew had to have been taken care of by someone else. There was no way this kid would have been able to handle all three of them at once, unless he had superpowers Leo wasn't aware of.

Further away in the darkness, something hit the cement floor with a light _bang._ "Fuck," someone called out softly.

"Jesus Christ," the kid muttered, moving back from Jason and lowering the gun.

"Sorry, Hunter," a girl's voice called out meekly. "We dropped the tape."

The kid- Hunter's eyes raised to the ceiling, as if thinking, _So help me, God-_ He looked back down to the captured trio, scowling. "No names in the field."

"Sorry."

A group of five more teenagers stepped out into sight, appearing sheepish. They all wore the same leather jacket as Hunter, the same dark ensemble.

"We're- we're not really going to kill them, right?" a little girl said- she couldn't have been older than twelve, with curly red hair that hid her eyes from view.

Hunter's gaze switched between them and his group, panicked. "Shh!" he hissed, scrambling over and flailing his hands in what Leo guessed was a _shut the fuck up_ gesture.

Funny. They didn't seem like monsters. Just normal kids.

A tall, brawny Asian kid gripped his shoulder, tipping from side to side like a leaf in the wind. "I... I don't feel so good," he said, his face chalk white. Red liquid leaked through his fingers- the exact place where Jason had stabbed that wolf. _Werewolves?!_

 _Beware the monsters_. Were these the people the woman had been talking about? The ones that had killed the Roman demigod?

"Crap," Hunter said. "They- they had some healing shit in their bag, right? Hurry up, look through-"

"In the blue one," Drew said, her eyes narrowed and centered on her bag. "You'll find stuff to bandage it up in there." Her eyes were knowing- but what was there to know? Vaguely, Leo remembered some tidbits of Greek mythology he'd learned in elementary while researching for projects; lycanthropes, werewolves, originating from King Lycaon. Obviously, that was what these kids were, or at least... thought so. What more was there to it?

Hunter grabbed the bag Drew had indicated with frantic hands, digging through it for the supplies his friend needed.

 _Monsters shouldn't look so scared_ , Leo thought, staring at Hunter's face. _Not for someone else, for a measly injury. Not if they always come back_.

Hunter pulled out the first-aid kit with a short breath of relief, before rushing to the injured boy. They made quick work of his wound- _not the first time they've dealt with something like this_ , Leo thought. From what he knew, unless monsters were killed, they healed rather quickly... there'd never be a need to learn medical treatment. So what was different?

Frustration filled him. Clearly, Drew knew, but it was impossible for Leo to figure out.

But- it didn't make sense. They weren't the big bad monsters Leo had always imagined they'd run into. They were... human, when they shouldn't have been. Hunter seemed to be all talk, with no action- not the type to kill someone in cold-blood. It went against everything Camp Half-Blood warned demigods about, what his siblings had warned him about in the little time they'd had. Leo couldn't even find it in himself to be truly scared of them. He felt worry, sure, but not _fear_.

Hunter stepped back from the now bandaged kid, his hands covered in blood that was quickly drying. He stared at them, eyes cold and assessing. A glint of annoyance peeked through his gaze.

"...We're not going to kill them, right?" the little red-headed girl repeated. "We can't."

Hunter put his back to them, revealing the silver _W_ stitched into his jacket. He said something that Leo couldn't hear, then shook his head. He placed a hand on his hip, leaning to the side with a sigh that Leo saw more than heard. Hunter murmured something else to the group; a few seconds later, they nodded in what Leo guessed was agreement.

Hunter walked back to them, tapping the pistol against his thigh as he eyed Jason. (Did he see him as the biggest threat?)

"You do know Medea's evil, right?" Leo said, finally speaking up. Hunter's gaze switched to him, irritated, the tapping growing the slightest bit faster. _Short for time._

"Like, really evil," Leo continued. "I'm talking complete psychopath. Or sociopath, whichever. Unless you're all complete dumba-" He stopped, remembering the presence of the little girl. "Idiots."

The tapping stopped. Hunter rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Look, Medea just happens to be the baddest boss around. We don't serve _her_."

Leo blinked. "Then-"

Hunter pressed his finger to Leo's lips in a shushing gesture. Mocking. "Shh. That's my secret to tell." He winked, and pulled his hand away. Leo scowled in return, pushing against his binds with no success.

Hunter nodded at his group. A cue; three of them stalked over, their faces partly lit in white light. He reached into his boot and pulled out a pocket knife. With one smooth flick, the blade came out, wicked and gleaming. He towered over Jason, and for a second, fear crept into Leo's heart- maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe these kids, _monsters_ could kill without a blink of an eye. The world shaped people in different ways.

He needn't have worried. Hunter slashed the knife through the rope holding Jason's feet, sending the son of Jupiter sprawling on the ground. Leo barely managed to keep in a relieved sigh. Instantly, the three teens were on him, grinding his face into the grimy floor.

Hunter crouched next to him, pulling a strip of cloth out of his pocket- a blindfold. "Nighty-night," he whispered, and tied it around Jason's head, cutting off his vision.

They hauled Jason to his feet. Hunter walked over to Leo next, his knife still gleaming. "Your turn."

Soon, all three of them had their hands tied and blinded. At the least, they could move- but with the way Hunter's gang yanked them along whatever path they were walking, there would be no running away.

"Here's the deal," Hunter began as they marched them along. "We won't kill you, or torture you, or anything like that. _But_." Leo didn't like that but. "You'll have to fend for yourselves. Down here, it's... not exactly a human's world, _if you know what I'm saying._ " Leo didn't like the emphasis on those words either.

He had the sense that Hunter was shrugging. "If somebody else kills you? That's your problem, not ours. We still get paid."

"You're really doing this?" Drew asked. She sounded like she was speaking through gritted teeth. "You're not monsters. You're..." She didn't finish. "You don't have to do this. We haven't done anything to you."

"We _are_ monsters," Hunter said, his voice hardening. "Sorry, sweetheart. It doesn't matter what you've done or haven't done. The rules that apply to people... don't apply to us. If you know what we are, you should have figured that out by now."

" _Let us go_ ," Drew said, her words flowing with power. " _Let us walk free_."

It should have worked immediately; the magic present made Leo sway, his body weaken, like he was going limp. A fog hovered over his mind, for a few seconds dulling Leo's thoughts.

Instead, there was a heavy silence. Leo's skin prickled.

"Sorry," Hunter said finally. He didn't sound affected at all. "Like I said, the rules have changed. That kind of stuff... doesn't do anything to us."

Time trickled by slowly. Leo's feet hurt, his soles aching, but he knew they wouldn't be getting a break, no matter how much he stumbled. With his vision gone, his hearing heightened; he could only hear bits and pieces of conversation, from Hunter and what sounded like that Asian kid.

"...Not our territory," he heard the kid mutter to Hunter. "Shouldn't be here."

"Not like we have a choice, do we?" Leo heard Hunter murmur back, his tone harsh.

It was all he needed to hear. Leo tuned the rest out. Clearly, these guys weren't the only monsters prowling the Chicago underworld. Again, he flexed his wrists, wondering if he should just... cut loose. If he killed these wolves, then- it didn't matter. His, Jason and Drew's survival mattered more, didn't it? There was too much riding on this quest. But with a pang, he remembered the little girl. Leo's hands grew limp.

He couldn't do it. He just couldn't.

Hunter's steps were louder, closer. Leo felt his presence looming, as if he was leaning in towards him, Jason and Drew. His voice was low, as if he was sharing a secret. "Want to hear something cool?"

"Not really," Jason replied dryly. That nonchalance again- was he forcing it, or did he really feel no concern for their situation?

"Ouch. Well, too bad, 'cause I'm telling you anyways." There was a little laugh at the end of his sentence, but it held no humor. "You see, Chicago- they bury old buildings underneath the street to make room for the new ones. And it keeps going and going like that, till you have a whole city buried in the dirt." Somewhere near, a train roared- subway. "A city all to _ourselves_."

Leo had the feeling that "ourselves" didn't just include their kidnappers.

Hunter began humming a jaunty tune, fraying Leo's nerves. He couldn't tell how far they'd walked, where they were- the proverbial blind man being lead in the dark. Leo swallowed, his mouth dry.

He wasn't sure how many minutes had passed when suddenly, his blindfold was yanked off violently, and he was shoved, the force behind it inhumanly strong- Leo was sent tumbling head over heels.

When he came to a stop, there was blood in his mouth. He spit it out, his jaw aching. It splattered on the stone, smearing it red.

Drew and Jason were pushed to the ground more or less the same way he had been.

The gang towered above them. Hunter smirked, his arms crossed in front of his chest- but behind him, the little girl stared, her eyes wide. Leo met her gaze, uncertain. Should he try to attack...? He didn't want to hurt a little kid. Damn them for bringing her along.

Leo could barely see in the darkness that clung to everything, but he pushed himself to his elbows, and then knees, grimacing all the while. "So that's it, huh?" He snarled, sneering. His weight on his bound hands, he ignored the pain that sparked up his arms. "You're just gonna leave us for dead?"

He was twelve again, beaten and bruised and trapped in the dark, with no power, no way to fight back- no home to run back to and lick his wounds, no one to kiss his hurts away and tell him _it's going to be okay_. He spit another clot of blood onto the ground, his lips curled. "Fucking _cowards_ ," he said, disregarding the presence of the girl. He hoped she remembered this, hoped that it haunted her.

For a moment, Hunter's smirk slipped off his face, regret pooling in his eyes- and then the cruel expression returned. " _Sayonara_ ," he said over his shoulder, as he turned to leave. "If you don't die, I hope you remember us; remember the _Wolves_."

He started to walk away, his and his friends' steps echoing off the decades old buildings that surrounded them. Leo couldn't find the energy to run after them, his shoulders trembling, his bones aching with a fatigue that had followed him for years. He wished that they'd never had to go on this quest. He wished that he hadn't been born a demigod. He wished that he'd never murdered his mother.

Leo was so tired... He wished that he could just close his eyes, and...

"Hunter!" the brawny kid suddenly snapped, lowering into a crouch, his yell shaking Leo out of his daze. " _They're here_."

 _They?_

Wisps of white mist curled over the old stone paths, gray in the darkness. Leo stumbled to his feet, a startled yelp tumbling from his lips; Drew and Jason followed him up, just as surprised and panicked as he was.

For a few seconds, Leo stood stock-still, expecting to fall over dead- but nothing happened. "What..."

"Forget it, let's _go_ ," Drew hissed, struggling to pull her hands apart behind her back with only sheer strength.

Jason grabbed her elbow before she could take off. "No, wait," he said, his eyes narrowed.

Silence endured for a short period. Yards away, the Wolves crouched, teeth bared, the fog shrouding their faces. Hunter had shepherded the little girl to his side- even from this distance, Leo could tell she was terrified.

Then- pounding. Were those... hooves? Like one of those movies set in the 1800s, horses running down cobblestone streets-

Leo's fingers twitched with a desire to burn. "What's-"

A being charged at him from the clouds of gas, like a demon straight out hell.

For a moment, Leo wasn't sure what it was- hysterically, he thought, _the Headless Horseman_? But there was no rider to be found, the beast's red eyes luminescent even in the black. It tore straight at him, its jaws open in a shrill screech.

Leo didn't have time to scream. Its head slammed into his stomach, ramming him upwards...

He heard something crack- _my ribs_ , Leo thought belatedly. Blood flew from his mouth, and he was thrown backwards.

His ears rang. Someone was yelling- Jason? After that fall, he'd landed somewhere close to him. Leo could hear their panicked shouts, faded in the wake of his injury. He couldn't remember the last time he was hurt this bad; had to have been years. Still, he'd had worse.

Shakily, Leo tried to push himself to his feet.

Not enough. His arms trembled with the effort. Wasn't enough.

The horse was charging at him again. Leo stared back at, his mind fuzzy. Everything seemed to be moving slowly... like he was on drugs, or something, and he knew what that felt like. Before he knew it, it was on him, teeth tearing into his arm with a wild fervor. Leo screamed as blood (bleeding, he was always _bleeding_ ) seeped into the material of his sleeve. He could feel himself throwing his hands out instinctively, for protection; horror dawned on him, but it was too late.

The fire he always held back roared to life in his hands, and burst outwards in a red and golden blaze, bathing everything in orange light.

 **xXx**

The aftermath of his powers was always an ugly thing.

Not that that was strange- fire burned. It destroyed. A cruel ability to gift on a boy who loved to create.

The first time he used his powers, really used them, not just a faint black mark left on a picnic table- he killed his mother.

The second time was only slightly less bad.

"This will be your new room," his first foster mother had said. It'd only been a month after his mother had died, and after plenty of rejections from the little family he had left, Social Services had had no choice but to register him in the foster care system.

Leo clutched his bag to his chest. It was small, and completely wrapped up in his skinny arms. He didn't have many belongings; not much had been salvaged from the fire. "T-Thank you," he'd stammered, his voice small. As small as it had ever been.

The lady smiled, tired. It'd been a long night of introduction and rules. She wasn't particularly pretty, but she was young. Her dark hair framed her face, her eyes glittering in the dim lighting; the kind look in them was familiar, a way his mother had often looked at him. His heart ached.

"Good-night, Leo." The door closed with a soft creak.

He sank into the mattress of his bed, clutching his bag like it was a comforting stuffed toy. His chest trembled with restrained sobs. It was always like this; once he was left alone at night, the tears came out. And when they came, they _hurt_.

He tapped a beat on the inside of his elbow. A message, _their_ message.

"Mommy," he cried out quietly, in one broken sob. "Mommy... Mom..."

This was the only time he could cry. It was the only time he would let himself cry.

A few weeks went by. Leo was acquainted with the other inhabitants of the house, all "problem" children. Sarah was the closest to his age, and a sweet girl, but she was a little... off. Sometimes, Leo could hear her screaming in her room.

Larry mostly kept to himself, his nose always stuck in his Gameboy. From the occasional offhand comments from the other kids, he had a violent temper. It was rare to hear the youngest girl, Mei, speak. The silence that hung around her like a permanent cloud was disturbing. Leo didn't have problems with any of them. They were okay, if only in need of help. No, it hadn't been them.

The oldest kid was where the trouble started. Jacob was wrong in a way that Leo couldn't place. Not like Sarah, but something almost sinister. Whenever he smiled, smirked, laughed; there was something strange in his eyes. Completely blank, and there was always a slight delay in his expressions, as if they were only temporary, not something true- painted on for an audience, a clown with bright makeup. Otherwise, it could have been perfect. He would have seemed like nothing more than a kid.

And his voice, that slight rasp... Leo still had nightmares, years later.

"Claudia?" he'd asked the foster parent of the house once, on a late-night grocery run.

She hadn't looked at him, still examining cans of various brands and companies, her fingers scratching her chin absent-mindedly. "Yes, Leo?" she'd asked, distracted. Not really paying attention. Leo's hands tightened around the handle of the basket he was carrying, the food and toiletries inside mingling together with a slight noise at the action. He shivered, goosebumps sprouting under his layers. The lights on the ceiling of the store were a bright white, but offered no warmth.

"What's wrong with Jacob?" he said, his voice hesitant.

"What?" Claudia's head snapped back, and she stared at him- Leo was almost certain she'd gotten whiplash.

"I..."

Claudia blinked, and cast her gaze around, realizing her voice had been too loud; the other occupants of the aisle who had been staring at them looked away. She glanced back at Leo, making a visual effort to relax her expression. Her smile was a little too strained. "There's nothing wrong with Jacob. Why do you ask?"

Her tone was tight, pleasant, but Leo didn't miss the hint of condescension. Not unusual for an adult who thought they were talking to nothing more than an ignorant child. Inwardly, Leo bristled. He might have only been seven, but he wasn't stupid.

"No, it's just..."

Jacob, carefully pulling the wings off of a fly that was still alive, still struggling. Passing by Jacob's room to see him doing... something to the remains of a mouse, the knife in his hand covered in dark red liquid. Removing the legs of a spider. The list went on.

Every time, Jacob flashed him that plastered smile.

"You won't tell anyone, right, Leo?"

"You aren't a tattletale, right?"

"We're friends, aren't we? Friends don't tell on each other."

"It's nothing, Leo. Just games, is all."

Leo shook his head, pushing Jacob's words out of his mind.

Claudia was still looking at him, her brows furrowed. "Leo?"

He stared down at his dirty red Converse, the laces lying on the tiled floor, untied. "Nothing. It's nothing. Never mind."

The days passed by, uneventful. At school, he was an outcast, the kid who always hid his hands from view and talked in a tiny, shaking voice. Always singled out as _that_ boy, the one with ADHD, looked at as if he was dumb because of his learning disorder. _Freak_ , a single word that constantly followed Leo through the bright blue and white hallways and classrooms.

It didn't bother him like it should have, would have a few months earlier. Only a monster could have murdered their mother. He wasn't much different from Jacob, that way.

It happened on a late November evening. The sky was a burnt red and orange, the sun setting in the sky. Winter was coming, the leaves fallen from their trees, the wind cold and biting. Leo had been sitting at the table next to the sliding door that lead to the backyard, only half-concentrated on the papers of homework sprawled over the tablecloth, his foot tapping a rapid pattern on the floor.

He bit the top of his pencil, thinking of blueprints he'd never plan, machines he would never build. If only...

"Hey."

Jacob stood at the entryway to the kitchen, leaning against the frame. His blond hair hung in his icy blue eyes, which held a stare that pierced through Leo and rooted him to the spot whenever he met it. A ball was tucked under his arm, a brown aviator jacket hugging his shoulders.

He raised an eyebrow at Leo, his lips quirked in a small smile. "Wanna go outside? Play some soccer with me?"

Leo glanced out the transparent door uncertainly. "I dunno," he said. "Isn't it too late?"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "It's only seven o'clock."

"But, Claudia-" Leo started to protest. Jacob cut him off.

"Claudia what?" Jacob asked. For a moment, he sneered, before switching back to a nonchalant smile. "I'm thirteen. We're old enough to be playing outside at this time, okay? Claudia won't get upset. Besides, she's too busy filing documents or whatever. She doesn't want us to disturb her."

"...Okay," Leo finally agreed, pushing his chair back and standing up. "I'll play."

His teeth started to chatter as soon as he stepped outside. "M-Maybe we should-" Leo began to say, but stopped as the door slid shut loudly behind him. Jacob stepped in front of him, smiling as he tossed the ball in the air with one gloved hand.

"Come on, let's play."

Leo didn't make any more arguments. He kicked the ball back and forth with Jacob, silence choking them all the while. It wasn't a comfortable silence. The sound of the leaves being blown over the dying grass of the backyard filled the air.

Jacob suddenly stopped the ball under his foot, startling Leo. He blinked at Jacob. "Is something..."

Jacob started dribbling the ball between his feet. "Say, Leo, where did you come from?"

"What? I came from Texas-"

Again, Jacob stopped the ball. "That's not what I meant."

Leo was too afraid of him to become irritated. "I don't understand."

Jacob blew out an annoyed breath. "Your family. Who were they?"

Leo's mouth opened, for a few moments no sound escaping. Finally, he swallowed. "I don't... I don't want to talk about it."

"Hmm?" Jacob cocked his head. "Why? Did they die or something?"

Anger sparked in Leo at his tone, careless and cruel. "I don't want to talk about it."

He'd expected Jacob to get mad, but the boy just rolled his shoulders in a shrug, looking bored. "Mine did. Murdered."

Leo's mouth dried. "Oh, I... sorry."

"It's okay. I don't miss them."

Leo stared down at the toes of his sneakers. _Don't miss them?_ He'd give anything to see his mom again... how could...

"So, where are your parents?"

Leo started to shake his head, but Jacob interrupted. "One of them's dead, right? I can tell. It's written all over your face."

The uneasiness must have showed in Leo's expression, because Jacob scowled. "I told you what happened to mine, right? It's only fair."

Leo winced. _I didn't ask_. "I guess. My mom died. I never knew my dad."

"Sucks," Jacob said plainly, kicking a small pile of leaves.

Leo didn't respond.

"So how'd she die?"

"...Fire. An accident." _Murder_.

Jacob bobbed his head in a nod. "You sure it was an accident?"

"Huh?"

"The way your mom died." He stared straight into Leo's eyes. "You sure it was an accident?"

"W-What? You're not making sense." Leo shook his head, blinking rapidly. "I-I'm gonna go inside now, it's too cold-"

"No you're not." Jacob grabbed his arm roughly, his fingers digging into Leo's skin. He dragged him over to the lone tree at the edge of the fence, out of view from any window in the house. He shoved him up against the bark, the brittle material digging into Leo's scalp.

Jacob's eyes bore into him. "What _really_ happened that night, huh? I'm curious."

Leo gritted his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie-"

"I don't know what you're _talking_ about!" Leo snapped, the fury evident in his voice for the first time.

Jacob looked amused, his mouth twisted in a small smile. "Wow. You really do have a temper, don't you?"

Leo gazed down at Jacob's hands, clenched in the polyester collar of Leo's jacket. Still the hands of a boy, smooth and pale- unlike Leo's, tanned and calloused.

"Nothing happened that night," Leo said quietly, "Other than a fire. It was just an accident."

 _Just an accident_. That had been how he'd tried to justify it to himself, at first.

"Accident, huh?" Jacob's grip loosened the slightest bit. "You know, I heard about you, before you came."

"What?"

"Hmm, I think it was... your aunt, right? Her and that agent and Claudia... talk about an argument. The only one really arguing was your aunt, though." He let out a small laugh. " _El diablo_ , s'what she called you. And something about it being your fault..." He stepped back from Leo, dropping his hands. "Listen, you don't have to lie to me. I get it."

"What?" Was this a dream? Leo really hoped this was a dream. "How did... I'm not..."

The wind blew through Jacob's hair, pushing it back from his eyes. His gaze remained on Leo. "If you killed her. I get it."

"It was an-"

Leo couldn't finish the sentence. Because it was a lie? Because the guilt had been eating him from the inside for too long and he was finally breaking? Because he was done running from the truth? He didn't know.

"Guilty." Jacob poked him between the eyes, his finger ice cold. "I can see it in your expression. You're not even bothering to hide it anymore." Again, he laughed. "Totally fucking guilty."

Leo couldn't even deny it. Shame swelled in his chest.

Jacob blinked. "Hey, it's nothing to feel bad about."

"Nothing to feel bad about?" Leo echoed.

"Yeah," he nodded. "See, my parents did die because they were murdered, but... they never found the killer."

"Huh-?" Leo started, then stopped. The truth hit him like a truck to the face, just as jarring and frightening. _Never found the killer_. He could read between the lines. He was struck back to days of peeking in on to crime shows when his mother was busy or looking away, Criminal Minds and the like.

Jacob took his silence as an answer. "It's only natural," he said. "The strong devour the weak. First rule of nature. My parents..." His face turned disdainful. "Well, they weren't strong, I can tell you that. But here's the thing, Leo." He wrapped an arm around Leo's shoulders, tugging him close and whispering in his ear. "We're two sides of the same coin. You understand, don't you?"

"I'm not like you," Leo said, his voice trembling. "I'm not a-" He stopped as he felt something sharp against his side, through the layers of his jacket and sweater.

"Now, you'll shut up, won't you?" Jacob said in a hushed voice, as if he was sharing a secret. The knife pressed a little harder, enough to hurt but not break the skin. "See, after you do it once... you crave it, especially if you're not allowed to have it. Especially if it's _wrong_." His eyes glittered madly, the first emotion Leo had ever seen in them.

"Because it _is_ wrong," Leo gasped, his heart racing with terror.

"Maybe. I don't really care," Jacob said. "I mean, if I do it to you, it's not wrong, right? You're just like me, after all. The world wouldn't be a worse place without you in it. Frankly, if you died, I don't think anyone would care." His grin was cruel. "You're alive, and your family doesn't even care _now_. Besides, I'm not gonna kill you or anything."

The knife slipped under Leo's shirt, tracing up his skin. Jacob smiled, almost dreamily. "We're just gonna play a little. Just one game, yeah?"

Tears welled in Leo's eyes, and he had to resist the urge to bawl, like a little baby. "Pl-Please, don't do this... I won't tell anybody, I swear! I swear, I swear, I-"

To this day, Leo still had trouble recalling what had occurred after that moment. Only the aftermath. Smoke wafting from his hands, embers on his clothes, and-

Jacob.

Sitting in a hospital room alone, his face wrapped up in bandages, the only area of his body that had been marred. Silent, like... an empty shell. And Claudia, the way she'd held up Jacob's lighter, staring at Leo with disgust, disappointment, and...

Fear.

That had been the first time Leo had run.

He hadn't looked back.

 **xXx**

Smoke, crawling in his ears, mouth, nose, choking him, choking him, he was choking-

There was a body on the ground.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

I hope that flashback wasn't too confusing. I wanted to look at Leo's past (and emotional issues) and since RR doesn't give us much, I made my own thing. As fanfiction writers do.

Again, I'm sorry I couldn't publish this earlier; unfortunately, school's been taking up my time. :/ Hopefully I will be able to keep up with weekly updates, but we'll see.

R & R, guys! (Really, please review; you couldn't imagine how much that helps, and I know a lot of people are looking at this story judging by the traffic graphs, so please leave a comment if you can.)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Happy belated Halloween, guys! I come to you with another chapter... hoho. Or should I say, heehee.

 **BlackAndSilverMonkey:** Thank you! I will continue on, friend.

 **notforgranted:** I didn't even notice that until you pointed it out. Wow. Pretend it was intentional on my part.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PjO or HoO. Rick Riordan owns both.**

* * *

 **{7.}**

From the moment that Jason had woken up on that bus, everything had been going wrong.

"Dammit," he hissed under his breath. He lowered into a crouch, somersaulting backwards over the bumpy ground; slipping his feet behind his hands and pulling them against his chest, he rose to his feet, and yanked his hands apart. The rope broke- being a son of the King of the Gods did have some perks.

Now, he panted, blinded and choking on mist and smoke. "Leo?!" he yelled, his voice cracking and hoarse. Drew stumbled behind him, coughing. He ran to her and quickly removed her binds, before turning back to the direction he thought that Leo had been thrown. "Leo, where are-"

The sight of him, a kneeling black figure outlined in the mist made Jason's heart drop down to his feet, heavy with the weight of dread.

"...Leo?" he cautioned, stepping closer to his companion. (Or... friend? Were they friends now? Only friends could feel worry like this, Jason thought.) "Leo?" He kneeled in front of him, ignoring the sparks that trailed from the hem of his army jacket, and his smoking hands. Powers... Leo'd never mentioned that he'd had powers.

Beside him, Drew was staring at something further ahead. Jason ignored her, keeping his attention on Leo. "Hey, you killed it," he said. It was true- the man-eating horse had become nothing more than a pile of golden ashes on the stone pathway. "There's nothing to be afraid of anymore." Jason didn't know what else could cause Leo's reaction, other than fear or shock. He lifted Leo's arm gingerly and examined his wound. The horse had torn out a chunk of his arm, coating the sleeve in blood. The pain would have to be incredible, but Leo's silence gave away nothing. They'd have to deal with the injury now, before it got infected or bled out too much.

He finally raised his gaze to where Drew was looking, and saw nothing. The Wolves were gone. Jason shook his head, frowning. "Drew, what-"

"You missed it," she murmured, cutting him off. She glanced down at Leo, hesitating. Her face was impossible to read. "The Wolves are gone, and- later, it's not... for now. We have to get out of here."

Jason hauled Leo to his feet, putting his arm around Jason's shoulder. Jason wrapped his own around Leo's waist, still wondering at the cause for his state. It was eerie; even in bad situations, Leo would always- or at least, Jason had thought it was always- make a joke or smile, even when it looked like it pained him. Now, he was just... catatonic. It stirred something in Jason's head, making it pound the slightest bit. This wasn't the first time he'd seen a demigod like this, he figured.

He flipped his coin, catching it as a sword and tossing it to Drew. She caught it with a fumble, and glared at him. "What-"

"Sorry," Jason said. "You're going to have to lead the way." He genuinely was- considering Drew's choice of weapon, her specialty probably wasn't sword-play, but with Leo like this...

Drew sighed. "I know how to use a sword," she said, turning away. "Listen, I don't think that's the only other monster here. Different territories... and only one monster coming after us, other than those kids? It doesn't make sense. It's probably..."

 _A trap._ Ignoring the dryness in his mouth, Jason swallowed.

They treaded through the mist carefully, on high alert. His breathing seemed too loud to him, audible in the heavy silence that hung over their group. Leo muttered things under his breath now and then, unintelligible- he'd snap out of it soon, Jason knew. Hoped.

He blinked at the low thrum that shook him out of his thoughts. His heart beat in time to the low bass, a clutter of rhythm and time that scattered in his head. He looked at Drew. "Do you hear-?"

"Yeah," she responded, her face wary. She'd raised the sword, holding it in a defensive position. "Where's it coming from?"

"I don't-"

Just as he'd strained his ears to find the source, the clicking of heels snapped him out of it. His chin jerked up, eyes scanning for the person they belonged to. Laced heeled boots, long legs clothed in black ripped jeans, a silver chain hanging from the belt loop; his gaze drifted further upward, faltering on the white tank and dark leather jacket that did nothing to hide her cleavage, before moving to her face.

She was beautiful.

Jason felt his face flush as their eyes met, finding it impossible to look away.

Red hair framed her face in waves, falling past her shoulders. Her eyes were a dark green, the colour of emeralds. The longer he stared, the more he found himself lost in that gaze...

Long, slender fingers snapped in his face. He looked to the side to find Drew staring at him, exasperated and annoyed. "Jesus Christ, Jason."

He frowned, momentarily shaken out of his stupor. "Aren't you a-"

"It's just a figure of speech," she snapped. Her irritated tone vanished as she moved her gaze to the woman who stood in front of them, who was staring at them both. Her elegant eyebrows were raised.

For a moment, Drew's hand trembled on the handle of the sword, before stilling. Her eyes turned stone cold, any sign of anger or frustration gone. "If you're a monster, or inhuman in the slightest bit," Drew began, her voice crisp, "It'd be in your best interests to leave. Preferably _now_ , before I _make_ you."

The woman stared at her, but Drew didn't budge. It continued a little longer, before the woman laughed, startling both of them. (Leo didn't move at all.) It didn't match her face, cruel and sharp. "Demigods," the woman said, her voice a low purr. "Always so arrogant. But..." She stepped closer, her eyes sparkling as they lingered on Jason. "I haven't seen one like you in decades."

When did she get so close? She stood in front of Jason, now; he had no recollection of her moving towards him, lost in the daze that he was, heat spreading through his body as the woman trailed a nail across his chin, red and long. His skin prickled. She leaned closer, whispering in his ear.

"Hello, little brother."

 **xXx**

"W-What?" Jason stammered, stumbling out of the woman's grasp. If she was disappointed, it didn't show.

"Little brother," she repeated, as if he was stupid. "You are my younger brother."

Not Thalia. She wasn't Thalia. His big sister who had spiky black hair and bangs that hung in her electric blue eyes, and a smirk that told of someone with confidence and spunk (the way she had appeared in that faded picture, at least); disappointment swelled in his chest, brief. It was probably for the best that this woman wasn't, considering the way she'd...

Jason shook his head, slowly. "I'm not into incest."

The woman barked a short laugh. "Of course." Jason didn't like the leering look in her eyes as she stared at his body from his feet, upwards to his face. He dropped her gaze, uncomfortable; Drew must have caught it in his posture or face, as she stepped in front of him, her grip loose on his sword- but ready to swing at a moment's notice. He felt a small burst of thanks.

"No offense, but we're short for time," Drew said flatly. She didn't sound like someone trying not to make offense. "If you're not here to kill us, or if you don't have something to say, we'll just get going..."

The woman stared at her, as if flabbergasted, before she smiled without mirth. "You've got some balls, girl." Jason almost winced. Such crude words were startling coming out from her mouth. "But I presume you have no idea who I am." She spread her arms, wide. "I have been called many things, but to the likes of you, I am the goddess Atë, of... well, many things." She nodded at Drew, whose mouth had pursed in a thin line. "You know what those things are."

Drew didn't look happy. "...Yes," she said, meeting Atë's eyes. "I'm guessing there's a reason you stopped us?"

"Hm..." Atë ran a hand through her hair, then shrugged. "Something like that. But I'd hoped to talk with you all first." She turned around, beckoning for them to follow. Against their better judgement, they did. (Not like they really had a choice, though- minor or not, how could you turn down a _god_?)

"Jason," Leo said, the first word he'd said in minutes. He licked his lips and spoke again, his voice hoarse. "Jason, I... That girl... I..."

Jason lifted his hand to squeeze his shoulder. "You can tell us later, okay?" he whispered. The beat of the music was getting louder, closer, and in the distance he could see small beams of neon light; anxiety bubbled in Jason's chest, Drew's words from earlier rising to the surface of his mind. What if they really were walking into a trap?

Drew fell into step on Jason's other side. She frowned at the goddess's back, then looked at Jason, shaking her head and speaking quietly. "We might want to run while we can."

"What? What do you mean?" They both glanced at the goddess; Jason lowered his voice, the closest he could get to out of Atë's earshot. "You think this is a trap?"

Drew looked pained. "I don't know. But..." She leaned in, her brows furrowed in worry. "That whole spectacle earlier? With the... you know." She flicked Jason's chin.

He shot her a look. "She didn't do that."

Some of Drew's usual irritation seeped back into her voice, overtaking her concern. Their mutual insults at each other, shared annoyance... In the midst of all this chaos, it was something familiar, and the butterflies in his stomach stopped beating their wings. "Not the point. She's... she's the goddess of infatuation, delusion, folly-" She shook her head again. "She was- _is_ known for leading men to ruin, Jason."

"Just men?" Leo asked. Drew and Jason stared at him, and he cracked a weak smile. "Guess you're safe then, Drew."

Drew sighed in exasperation, but relief showed in her shoulders as they relaxed. "Not funny, Leo. I meant humans. But." She glanced ahead at the goddess, who was walking in beat to the rhythm of the music, her hips swaying as her curls bounced. If Jason didn't know any better, and if not for their surroundings, she could just have just been a normal college girl on her way to a party or club.

He dropped his gaze back to Drew. "So... You're saying we could be her next victims?"

"I don't know," Drew repeated. "Just be prepared for the worst." In a gesture that surprised him, and Leo as well by the way he jumped, she reached over to grab Leo's hand and gently squeeze it, before moving her hand back to her side. She glared at the path in front of them while both of the boys stared at her.

Leo tucked his hand in his pocket. "Drew... Thanks."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "It's nothing." She nodded at his arm. "That's gotta hurt, yeah?"

Leo blinked. "Oh. Whoops."

Drew smirked at Jason, a small glint of smugness in her eyes. "'Who forgets about their injuries', huh?" she said, making finger quotes.

Jason sighed, done with both of them. "That's not what I- whatever." Honestly, it was ridiculous.

The place that Atë was leading them to quickly became obvious. The butterflies beat their wings once more, as Jason's mouth dried. It was a tall, shambling building, crumbling at the edges. Cracks were present in the bricks, but the neon lights he'd seen earlier blazed from the broken windows. The music that played was nothing he could recognize, but he resisted the urge to sway along with it. His head started to buzz, the warning of danger coming back.

"Fuck," Drew cursed, voicing Jason's exact thoughts. "This is... This is gonna suck, isn't it."

"Cynicism is for suckers," Leo said. He winked at Drew, who looked a cross between amused and annoyed. "Keep that chin up, okay?"

"That optimism is gonna get you killed," Drew grumbled.

They fed him some ambrosia quickly; it was weird to see the skin and muscles that had been torn away regenerate, but for the most part the wound closed, and the worries of infection faded from Jason's thoughts. For a second, Leo's lip trembled. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing.

The food of the Gods tasted like the meals you loved most, Jason remembered hearing. If he had it, what would it taste like...? Would it bring back any lost memories, maybe- days with Thalia, or whatever family he'd once had?

Atë's voice pulled him out of his head. "Join me, demigods!" she shouted, yelling to be heard over the music. She winked, an echo of Leo's, her smile revealing perfect white teeth. "Time to have some fun, don't you think?!" She disappeared into the entrance of the building, the old door slamming shut behind her.

They remained where they stood. "...Fun," Drew said, her voice dull. "Party time. Maybe I'll finally see you let loose, Jason. Bring out that 'wild side' of yours." She pawed her hand half-heartedly, mimicking a- lion? Cat? " _Mreow_. I mean- you do have a wild side, don't you?" A glimmer of life returned to her tone. "There's no way you're a Boy Scout 'round the clock, all day, every day. Right?"

He felt Leo shake under his grip in a silent laugh. "Shut up, Drew," Jason said, his lips twitching. The almost-smile disappeared as he released a deep exhale. "Let's go."

Outside the building, various creatures meandered; fauns and nature spirits, laughing and bubbly- drunk or high, Jason guessed. While he didn't think they would be unwilling to have conversations with strangers, he very much doubted that it'd be anything the three of them could understand, by the way these creatures tipped and swayed dangerously on the spot, their eyes half-lidded and mouths slightly parted.

They moved past them, opening the door and entering Atë's lair.

Immediately, he noticed the monsters.

While the people outside had been nothing dangerous, these guys... Jason's hand twitched for his coin, before he realized that Drew still had it in her possession. Cyclops, what he guessed were trolls and girls with metal legs and hooves littered the decaying space; more monsters that he was unable to identify, hidden in the dark as they were. The shadows were the monsters' domain, not mortals such as them. Jason's instincts screamed at him to get out of there- by the looks on Drew and Leo's faces, so did theirs.

" _He-llo~_!" Atë's voice sang, as her arms were thrown around Jason and Drew's shoulders, pulling the three of them together. "Having fun, little demigods?"

"This place is a wreck," Drew choked out. Jason felt panic start to bloom- really, gods could be set off by the littlest things (at least, a tiny voice in his head said so).

Instead, Atë laughed and flicked Drew at the tip of her nose with her thumb and ring finger. Drew grimaced, pulling back. "Look closer, silly! It's the Mist that hides it."

"What..." the Hera rescue crew echoed, before things really got clear.

The walls and floor were covered in bronze, gleaming in the lights that spiraled over the room. Pillars made of the same material stretched from the ceiling to the level they were on, wrapped in wreaths of flowers and wheat. At the other end of the room was a throne, its wooden limbs twined with pink corals and roses. It sat on a dais that looked over the room, a majestic horse sleeping at its side. Jason squinted, trying to get a closer look, but Atë's hand on his arm stopped him, as she spun him around.

"You all need to loosen up a little," Atë said. She grabbed a plate from a suitor dressed in a colourful outfit, holding it up in front of them. "Take a bite," she said. "It can show you many things. What you _want_ to see, your deepest desires. Mortals and their creations these days," she shook her head, sighing blissfully. "Such wonderful things. Go on, try it."

"I don't think-" Jason started, but cut himself off as Atë stared at him. Her eyes were dark, dangerously so.

"Take it or leave it, little brother. Just remember what's on the line."

Jason understood the meanings in her words. Either they did what she wanted, or they'd leave with nothing in tow, nothing gained or learned.

He scowled at the little papers on the metal dish (hard to tell their colour in the dark). He couldn't distinguish what it was at all; there was no tingle or warning in his head. But Leo's eyes widened in recognition.

"LSD," he murmured. "Pretty potent hallucinogen. Bad effects, though."

Atë shrugged. "Not quite the same drug. Some of my own..." She twisted her hand in the air. "Modifications."

Leo blinked at Jason, his expression strangely flat- lost. "Jason, you're the leader. If you think it's worth it..." He glanced at Drew. "I'll do it too."

"Don't count me out of this, either," Drew snapped. She swallowed, straightening. "So will I."

Atë snorted. "Brave, but unnecessary." That shadowed gaze again, centered on Jason. "I only need the boy to do it. So will you accept it, son of _Jupiter_?"

Jason's head pounded at the name. _Jupiter, Jupiter, Jupiter_. Another reminder of what he really was, that he didn't belong to the same world as Leo and Drew. At least not as painful a reminder as that corpse had been.

He clenched his teeth, the phantom taste of blood in his mouth. It was a risk, for sure. But you couldn't stand on the edge forever. Sometimes, you had to jump.

Jason accepted it.

He smiled weakly at Leo and Drew, as reassuring as he could manage. Then he picked up the paper with still fingers, and took the drug.

Jason let the paper flutter to his feet, blinking. "Is that it?"

Atë rolled her eyes. "It doesn't work immediately. But..." She winked at Jason. "It might help you, in some ways. You'll thank me later. Now, excuse me if you will..." She disappeared into the crowd, her red hair flying out behind her.

Drew turned to him, her face blank- carefully so, he thought. "That was a hell of a risk to take, Jason." Her eyes narrowed, as she bent down to pick up the paper and shook it in his face. When he had no reaction, she pulled it away and tore it in two, her lips curled back in disdain. "You really don't know what this is, huh? I don't know whether to blame your lack of memories or what... talk about a shitty situation."

At the look on his face, Drew looked away, frowning. "I'm not blaming you," she said, as quietly as she could over the roar of the music. "Just... You could really get hurt, Jaybird." She winced. "Who knows what Atë's "modifications" did to those drugs. I don't think this is..." She glared down at her feet, expression stormy.

Leo took over, his face still appearing strangely young. "LSD- lysergic acid diethylamide," he said. "Unpredictable effects- depending on the dose, too. It takes about half an hour to ninety minutes to set in, and it can last... about ten to twelve hours. Hallucinations, hearing things, mood swings- and that's just the normal drug."

Jason kept his mouth in a still line, determined not to let the fear he was feeling show on his face. ( _Never let them see how scared you really are,_ a voice growled in his head- familiar. Lupa.) He allowed uncertainty to crack through his mask as he met the other boy's gaze. "Leo, how do you know all this?"

Leo hesitated, diverting his eyes. "I lived on the streets for a while," he said finally. "You'd- You'd be surprised by the kinds of stuff you can see. Pretty amazing, really." A small, hollow laugh fell out of his mouth, and he tapped his head. "Nothing your brain will ever let you forget. Just that spectacular of an experience."

Jason didn't miss the bitter sarcasm in his tone. "Leo..."

Drew pinched the sensitive skin of his forearm, and he yelped, more in surprise than pain. "Stop worrying about others for once, Jaybird. This could end pretty badly for you. You don't have to act like some fucking selfless hero."

Vulnerability overtook his mask- Jason was helpless to stop it. "I..." Something prickled at his eyes- huh? He blinked it away, shaking his head. He didn't understand the feeling in his chest, out of nowhere. An immediate reaction to- what? Concern? What the fuck. He laughed, empty. Whatever kind of life he'd lived before a goddess had dropped him on a school bus, it must have been pretty sad.

"Don't call me Jaybird," was the only comment Jason managed to bring forth.

Drew whirled around, throwing her hands in the air. "Unbelievable," she growled as she tugged at her bangs. Her foot twitched, as if with the desire to stomp it like a child having a tantrum. Jason tried not to laugh again, at the incredulity at it all.

"I'll survive," he said. "I have to. Stop worrying, okay? That's an order from your quest leader."

Drew's emotions disappeared in the place of dismay. Leo stared at him, the look in his eyes hard to place. "Jason..."

He forced himself to smile. "I'll be fine. Really."

 **xXx**

He wasn't fine.

Blue- light blue, the colour of the sky, fluffy like clouds, cotton candy, hovered in front of his eyes. The static of a broken tv in his ears, glass smashing to a tiled floor, yelling and crying and shouting- dizzy, it made him so _dizzy_. He giggled, a child's laugh. He could taste salt on his lips.

 _My boy, my boy, my little boy_ , a voice said, warbly and distorted, and then- _He's not my son. Take him_.

Cheering, the chant of his name. Blood on his skin, in his eyes, in his ears- so _much_ , so much _red_. His heart beat the fast song of panic. He could see lips, forming words he couldn't read or understand- eh? There was a woman in front of him. Her blond hair hung to her shoulders in delicate curls, her slim figure draped in a black dress, rosebud mouth puckered in a pout. A wine glass was held limply in her fingers, golden liquid swishing inside it.

She took a few steps towards him, the sound of her heels on the floor impossibly loud in the sudden silence. "Jason... My little Jay," she slurred, the wine splashing on her dress as she swayed drunkenly. "I didn't want to leave you- oh, my son, I never wanted to do it..."

He was crying. Why was he crying?

Her face twisted from grief to an ugly sneer. "You fucking brat," she snarled. "Get out. Get _out_. _Get out_!"

Jason fell backwards, scraping the skin on his palms. The pain went by unnoticed.

The inebriated woman disappeared, another woman just as gorgeous taking her place. She wore regal robes, armed with a sword and shield on her back; golden circlets circled her biceps, a golden wreath utop brown hair held back from her face in a braid that reached her waist. This person, Jason recognized, even through his delirium. _Juno_.

She knelt in front of him, hand cupping his cheek. "Jason," she whispered. "My warrior. You'll save me, won't you? After everything I've done for you... it is only fair of you, is it not?" Her eyes flashed gold. "Do not fail me, Jason Grace. Don't-"

She was cut off abruptly, gone. Jason blinked, sniffled. The whole scene in front of him was gone, replaced by another. He sat in a dining room, with family pictures in black frames hung on bright yellow walls and a wooden floor, at a table with a red and white checkered cloth and fresh breakfast in front of him; he stared at the pictures, straining to recognize the people posing in it. He could recognize himself, barely- much younger, with hair that fell into his eyes and a beam that revealed missing teeth. But there was also Thalia, that drunk woman who looked much happier and youthful, and another...

A man, with black hair and a beard and eyes the same shade as Thalia's. A dark, stormy blue.

"Jay," a voice said, sing-song- a fork poked the pancake on his plate, and he dropped his gaze to see Thalia staring at him, her lips pulled back in a grin. "You _are_ going to eat that, aren't you?"

"Thalia, don't tease your brother," the woman- his mother reprimanded, but eyes told a far different story than her stern tone, dancing with laughter. "And don't take his food either," she said, as Thalia's fork stabbed into the pancake, spearing it in the middle.

The man, who'd been quiet the whole time, sighed in exasperation. "Kids, don't play with your food," he said. Thalia pouted, but nodded, while Jason said nor did anything.

The man frowned at him. "Jason, what's wrong?"

Jason gazed down at his plate: a happy face made on his meal, with blueberries and strawberries, draped in syrup. "I... I don't..."

As quickly as it started, it ended.

 **xXx**

The lights were off when the hallucinations trickled away to nothing.

Jason pulled himself into a sitting position, slowing his movements as the room started to spin. He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. He rubbed his hands on his face- tear marks streaked through the grime on his cheeks, and he tried to wipe them away fruitlessly. He looked upwards to see Leo and Drew talking a few feet away, both looking distressed and talking in hushed whispers. On her throne, Atë sat, bored, her feet kicked up on the arm of the chair while she petted the white horse at the foot of it.

Jason trailed his hands up his arms, trying to stop them from trembling. Shaking. He couldn't stop shaking, the pounding of his heart too fast, too loud in his ears. "...Drew?" he croaked. "Leo?"

They rushed over immediately, kneeling beside him. Drew reached for his hand, before thinking better of it and leaving it in her lap, while Leo wrapped his arm around Jason's arms and pulled him close in a one-armed hug. Jason blinked, surprised at the contact, before leaning into it and accepting the warmth Leo offered, his lashes lowering. He didn't understand the sudden guilt in Drew's expression, but couldn't think more of it before Atë spoke.

"I understand now," she said. Her demeanor had switched completely from before; her voice was monotone, her face completely emotionless. "I wasn't expecting that, little brother."

Drew rose to her feet, fist clenched around his sword- S _he still has it_ , Jason realized dimly, his mind still shrouded in the drug-induced haze. "What did you _do_ to him?" she snarled. Jason didn't think he'd ever heard her sound that angry- not even back at camp, when she hadn't seemed to be more than a two-dimensional bully. When Atë didn't respond, she slammed the sword into the ground, cracking the floor. "He took your drug. The _least_ we deserve is an explanation."

Atë raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Watch your temper, girl," she said. "You are lucky that I am more merciful than my brethren."

Drew pulled the sword out of the floor with a strength Jason hadn't thought she'd possessed. She stared down at the toes of her boots, jaw clenched and bangs hiding her eyes from view. "Tell us what you did to him," Drew said. "...Please." Jason wondered how much it had hurt her pride to say that, but when she lifted her head to look at him he forgot his thoughts; her eyes were churning with frustration and anger and... something else. Sadness? No. Sympathy.

"I told you earlier, didn't I?" Atë said, boredom returning to her tone. "I made my own modifications, infusing the drugs with my magic. It lets me see your most powerful desires, at the cost of some bad memories or anxieties... and feeling what you're feeling." She snorted. "Empathy at its finest."

Jason looked around the room, realizing that its occupants had left- either that, or they were sitting on the floor, dazed and staring in front of them with an empty gaze. It explained Atë's "sudden" mood shift. She'd never actually been that happy in the first place... even if the gods were known for being a little eccentric.

"It also lets me see into your hubris," Atë said. "...And you, son of Jupiter, are an interesting case."

"...What did you see?" Jason asked. Shameful curiosity in his heart, he peered at the goddess through lidded eyes.

Atë smirked. "Well, that would just ruin the fun, wouldn't it?" She stood up and jumped off the throne, as graceful as a ballerina leaping through the air. Her landing in front of them was almost silent. She straightened, her smirk still on her face. Her horse trotted up behind her. She reached back a hand to comb through its mane absent-mindedly. "Beautiful creature, isn't it?" she asked. "A mare of Diomedes. Eater of man, but..." She sniffed. "Still a gorgeous animal, if you ask me."

"Wait," Leo said, standing up and removing his arm from Jason's shoulders. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost, all the blood drained out of his face. "A horse that's an eater of man? You're the one who..."

"Sent that horse earlier?" Atë shrugged. "Yes, it was me, I confess."

"'I confess'? A little girl _died_!" Leo shouted. He shook with rage, his breathing shallow. "You..."

Atë stared back at him with an icy gaze that was just as powerful as his glare. "The horse wasn't the one who killed her, was it?"

Leo looked as if she'd physically struck him, his complexion paling even more. "I..."

"Poor Xanthus," Atë said mournfully, shaking her head. She wrapped her arms around the white mare's neck, cooing. "At least I still have you, Podargus."

Jason felt more lost than ever. His gaze rested on Leo for a few seconds, before drifting back to the goddess. "What was the point of it? Sending that after us... what was the point?"

"To test you," Atë said, trailing a finger down the horse's powerful back. "To see if you were worthy. I don't entertain an audience with just any half-blood, you know."

Leo seemed like he had much more words to say (nothing nice) but thankfully kept silent.

Jason stepped closer, pushing away his anger with the goddess aside. For the moment. "My... desire. What was it?"

Atë's expression filled with pity. "Oh, little brother. You think it will have something to do with your former life, don't you? But you already know the answer."

"...Family. It's family, isn't it?"

Atë didn't reply, but her face provided enough confirmation. Jason swallowed and looked away.

"...You're different, you know," Atë murmured. "Compared to your brothers and sisters... you are very different. But be careful, boy." Her nail poked him in the center of the forehead. "Children of the sky god have a penchant for cracking."

"What happened to you?" Jason asked. "Down here, instead of on Olympus with the rest of the gods... what happened?"

Atë's expression darkened. "My father cast me down from the heavens," she said, "Forever forced to walk the world of man. To never return. Hera... well. Let us just say that the blame belongs to Hera. Not that she'd ever be punished for it, of course. So you see, when her punishment finally comes, I don't have much cause to absolve her of it. Even if I happen to like you."

Drew shook her head, her face pained. "I know the gods can be _massive_ assholes-" she paused, as if waiting for something before continuing, "-but without Hera they'll be more of a wreck than they are already."

Atë rolled her eyes. "I didn't say I _wouldn't_ help you, just that I don't have much reason to. I don't place on crossing an Olympian more than I have to." She sighed, glancing at Jason. "Our father had a message for you. In his words, 'Don't journey to Enceladus'."

Jason stood there. Blinked. Said, "That's it?"

Atë shrugged. "It's surprising, but occasionally Father can be a man of few words. I'm sorry, little brother. That's the most you'll get."

Jason swore under his breath. "Thank you," he said- not that he actually meant it, but it wasn't the wisest decision to be rude to someone who could probably blow you to smithereens.

Atë switched her gaze to Drew. "Girl, be careful," she said. "I am not the only 'delusion' you'll meet- or have met already."

Drew looked visibly startled. "I-" she began, then coughed before she could finish.

"Consider this a gift from me," Atë said. "Speeding up your quest a little. And a favour to your mother, I suppose," she nodded at Drew, "I'll even send that metal beast with you. Goodbye, demigods."

Before Jason could say anything more, Atë snapped her fingers, and his vision was swallowed in darkness.

* * *

 **Ending Note** **:**

LCD is a very powerful drug, guys, and I wouldn't advise using it. At all. Like I mentioned it's a hallucinogen, and many of you have probably heard of it before. Here's a link for more info: drugs illicit / lsd. html (just take out all the spaces if you happen to use the link.)

Anyways, as always, thank you for reading! Please take the time to leave a review.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter! And I'm sorry that I haven't updated in the past two weeks- schoolwork calls.

Anyways, take this +9,000 words of a chapter as an apology; the longest chapter yet. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

What can I say? I'm an overachiever. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or its sequel series.**

* * *

 **{8.}**

When Jason's vision cleared, he immediately puked.

The little contents of his stomach fell into a pile of snow, its heat melting it and... ugh. Gross. After he was done, Jason sat up, and swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. Workers drilled away at his head, but he could tolerate it. Unfortunately, he was getting a little too used to having migraines.

As he tried to stand up, his vision did a 180. "Whoops," he muttered, falling back to the hard ground with a barely audible _thump_. "Better not."

Snowflakes fluttered down from the black, cloudy sky, the full moon illuminating the patch of dead grass he now sat on. Jason stared up at the clouds, looking for something- anything. A cloud in the shape of Zeus's face, maybe. That message- was that it? _Don't journey to Enceladus._ He didn't even know who that was.

Jason's eyes fell back to the earth. He was... he was being ungrateful. Olympus was closed; he was lucky to get any message from his father at all, even if it was just a warning. A warning was better than any sickeningly sweet, sentimental words. He licked his lips, the sour taste of bitterness all-too noticeable at the back of his mouth. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, brushing off the small amount of snow that had gathered.

"Leo?" he called out hesitantly. "Drew?" Not the first time he'd called for their names while alone on this quest; his heart rate sped up, powered by uncertainty and anxiety. How many more times could he call before they weren't there? Demigods could only be so lucky.

"Over here," Drew called back, from somewhere in the darkness of trees ahead of the clearing he was in. At the sound of her voice, Jason let out a small exhale of relief. Looked like his luck hadn't ran out yet.

This time, he got to his feet slowly, staving off the nausea- an experience similar to that time on the bus, which seemed so long ago now... and it'd only been, what? Three or four days?

On unsteady feet, he stumbled to the direction he'd heard Drew's voice, like a sailor finding out how to walk again on land. He ignored the sensation of his vision tilting as black tinted the edges, Leo and Drew's conversation getting louder the closer he approached- as well as the deep, shuddering heaves of something. Festus.

The dragon's scales glowed in the moonlight, frost glistening on its metal skin. Leo knelt beside its head, running his hands along its muzzle, murmuring to the dragon as he smiled softly- but the furrow in his eyebrows gave away his worry. Festus's golden eyes blinked, once, twice and it snorted. Leo laughed lowly in response, then shook his head.

Drew stood nearby, watching the exchange with her arms crossed and a blank look on her face. Her already pale complexion was white in the light of the moon, black hair gleaming silver. A finger tapped the inside of her elbow impatiently. She turned to him, squinting. "Finally with us, Jaybird?"

A small laugh of surprise burst from his mouth, wisps of his breath grey in the frigid air. Her bluntness always managed to catch him off guard, somehow. "I'm with you. What's going on?"

Leo sighed, dropping his hands from Festus and standing up. "We've got a problem."

Jason shot Festus's crumpled form a tired glance. "I figured as much."

Leo ran a hand dotted with black oil through his hair, causing the curls to stick up. "Someone's... tampered with Festus."

"Tampered?"

Leo sighed again, and rubbed his face with his fists, leaving black marks. The bags under his eyes were an unhealthy shade of purple that made him look sickly, accented by his pallid skin. "The control disk is frozen," he explained, "Which wouldn't be unusual if it belonged to anything else other than a mechanical dragon. Festus generates enough heat that he shouldn't be able to freeze; that only leaves me with the cause as something not... normal."

Jason looked to Drew. "Any guesses?"

She shrugged. "Yours is as good as mine."

"We can worry about it later," Leo interrupted. "Normally, this would be as easy as baking a cake, but..." He waved his hands over his belt, wagging his fingers.

Whatever the gesticulation meant, it flew over Jason and Drew's heads, both of them staring blankly at Leo. He scowled, crossing his arms. " _Hello_? My magic toolbelt, anyone? Just the thing that helped us do about... everything?"

"Oh. That's not good," Drew supplied unhelpfully.

"Obviously, this calls for a supply run." Leo stared at the both of them meaningfully.

"How lovely." Drew deadpanned.

Leo winked. "And I know I can count on you two marvelous, _strong_ heroes, hmm?" He struck a pose not too unlike that of a damsel of distress, batting his eyelashes.

"We got it, Leo," Jason said dryly, suppressing a smile. At least his mood had changed- back to something that had resembled that ignorant, happy boy back on the first day. "Enough with the theatrics- tell us what we need to get."

In a messy, inky scrawl, Leo wrote down a list of things they needed on a crumpled paper that had somehow miraculously managed to survive everything they'd been through in his jacket. Jason took it and glanced at it once before folding it and tucking into his pocket. He looked at Leo with furrowed eyebrows, uncertain. "Are you... really okay with staying here alone? I could go by myself if you want someone to stay with you."

Leo's smile vanished. "It's okay." He snapped his fingers, a small spark glinting above them. He shoved the same hand roughly into his coat pocket; the most he seemed to be willing to display of his powers. "I have my... I'll be fine. It's probably more dangerous in the city or town- whatever it is, anyways..."

He was probably right, but Jason knew he hadn't truly meant them as logical reasons- they were excuses to be alone. Jason didn't protest. While Leo's tone had been nonchalant and dismissive, in the same breath his eyes were a whirlwind of guilt and hatred. His mood hadn't changed so much as been buried beneath a façade. Jason wished he could say something comforting, the way Leo had back in those sewers, but he didn't know what to say... much less what had caused the change in the first place.

"Okay," Jason agreed reluctantly. "We won't be gone for long." He'd expected a snarky input from Drew, but she was weirdly silent, other than shoving a handful of golden coins and a water bottle into Leo's hands- drachmas, she explained, for Iris Messaging. The safe way of communicating for demigods, by way of rainbows. Although Jason was skeptical, Drew's face was completely serious. She briefly demonstrated for Leo, before stepping back with a mouth pursed in thought.

They left behind pitch-black footprints in the light layer of the snow as they walked away. Leo had only given a brief "Stay safe" as a send-off before he'd turned his back on them, eyes murky while his lips stretched tight in carefree smile. The discrepancy was unnerving.

"...Drew?" Jason asked, breaking the dreary silence that plagued them while the dragon and its rider became distant figures hidden by the dark cover of the trees. "What's going on?"

Her response was a sigh, as she tilted her head up to stare at the wide expanse of the stars above them, floating in an endless sea of black. "It's... it's not complicated. Simple, rather. Really simple. Jason, you..." She snorted, dropping her gaze to him. "I wonder if Leo would want you to hear this. Not that it's a secret."

"...Is this about his powers?" Jason said, hearing the implied accusation in his tone.

Drew blinked, confounded. "What? That's not what I'm- _Jason_. You think I find him... what, dangerous? A monster?"

He opened his mouth, but she spoke before he could answer. "I've lived with this stuff for years. That wasn't the scariest display of powers I've ever seen, trust me."

Jason relaxed, shooting her a remorseful grin. "Sorry. I just wasn't sure if- you know."

Her smile was rueful, half concealed by darkness. "I know- I'm not the nicest person, huh? That's probably an understatement." Her bangs fell to obscure the eye he could see as she shook her head. "But that's not the point. You didn't see the aftermath, did you?"

"What after..." His voice died.

Drew nodded. "Thought so. Listen, you saw that- that little red-headed girl, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but why-" Again, his question came to an abrupt stop. "Oh. _Oh_. So that's what Atë meant."

"Yeah." Drew stared down at the tips of her boots, lightly sprinkled in snow. The crunch of their feet was loud, almost too loud. "It was his fire. He was using it to protect himself from that horse, but." She reached back a hand to cup the nape of her neck, scowling. "Gods, Jason, you could tell he didn't even mean to do it on _purpose_. But the kid died, and obviously... he blames himself. Atë sure didn't help in dousing the flames." She moved her hand up to push back her bangs, closing her eyes.

Confusion, disbelief and sorrow fought in his head- but not anger. Thankfully, not anger. Leo didn't need anyone else to blame him, Jason rationalized- and maybe, he knew what it was like to feel guilty for something you couldn't control. At least, he thought he did.

Neither of them seemed to know what to say. Jason shoved teetering words from his lips. "It was an accident, though, wasn't it?"

Drew removed her hand, letting her hair fall back into her face and blowing out a frustrated sigh. "Yes. But not- not everyone will see it that way. I don't think we should..." She stared ahead, grimacing. "Other than Chiron, I don't think we should share it with _anyone_. Pyrokinetic children of Hephaestus tend to have a bad rep. For now... we keep it to ourselves. It's Leo's choice in the end."

Jason stared at her, surprised. Of all the people he would have expected a bad response from, she was one of them. Drew was bad-tempered, foul-mouthed, sarcastic and slightly rude when in a good mood- he couldn't imagine her in a bad one. From the way her siblings had looked at her at camp, she was the predator at the top of the food chain.

The first day of the quest, she'd proved the majority of his expectations right. And then came moments like this, which seemed to be increasing in abundance, and he wasn't sure what to think... Jason wondered if he'd ever known such a contradictory person in his old life.

Drew stared back at him. "What?"

"Nothing. I didn't think you'd be so..." He shrugged. "Understanding, I guess."

Drew barked a bitter laugh. "Understanding? More like unhypocritical." An amused smile played on her lips. "You don't realize it, do you? The basis of my power is literally taking away people's free-will without their permission or desire. I'm the last person who should talk. I can make anyone do anything _I_ want. Most people would consider that a punishment worse than death."

For the third time in minutes, Jason found himself speechless. Whenever Piper had used her charmspeak, he'd been completely in awe- with her, it'd seemed a true gift, the power closest to being straight out of a fairytale. Like its name, its magic was charming, and not just to those who fell victim to it. But it'd always been different with Drew. Watching her use it put a disdainful taste in his mouth. He'd blamed it on her abuse of the power, but...

 _If Piper had done it, you wouldn't have said anything._

At the time, Jason hadn't been able to respond. Later, he'd easily reasoned the cause of that to himself- it was because Piper was more trustworthy than Drew, who seemingly had no qualms with using it on anyone. But was his faith in her really that boundless? In someone who was a complete stranger?

No... that wasn't right... they'd been boyfriend or girlfriend- at least, the Mist had lead Piper to believe so.

Maybe when he got back to camp, there'd still be something there, even if it had been fake? He remembered her gorgeous smile, those kaleidoscope eyes and felt his heart swell and heat rush to his cheeks. ( _Not right,_ a voice said in his head, _not **you**.)_

Jason scowled and shook his head, pinching himself instead of the slap he really wanted to land on his face. Now wasn't the time to be daydreaming about possible romance, no matter how breathtaking the person in question was.

"Jason?"

He started. "Eh?"

Drew was staring at him. In those brief moments, he'd forgotten she was there; there was a crinkle in her forehead, the expression in her eyes impossible to tell in the night.

"...Nothing," she said finally. "You checked out for a second there."

He shrugged, making a weak attempt at a smile. "Just thinking of better things than... here," he said, waving a hand around at their surroundings.

Drew grinned toothily. "You and me both, Jaybird."

At that point, the sound of civilization reached them- the sound of tires rolling over gravel, the usual loud hum of cars and trucks... from where they were, through the dense cluster of trees Jason could see the red and white lights that usually meant the taillights or headlights of cars. He let out a sigh of relief, finding Drew beside him doing the same.

Before they left the forest, Drew stopped, turning back with her eyes creased in a squint. "Do you remember where Leo is?"

"You're just thinking of that now?" Jason said exasperatedly. He resisted the urge to reach out and flick her forehead. "Don't worry, I memorized the number of steps we took. It's south-west of where we stand now."

Drew stared at him, unblinking. "You can do that? Remember all those steps?"

He understood her incredulity. Really, it'd been more out of instinct than being pragmatic. Something automatic.

Jason tapped his head. "What can I say? I have a good memory."

"Wow. Did you really just..." Drew shook her head after momentarily looking to the heavens, then stepped away from Jason's path and gestured out to the road. "After you."

 **xXx**

The city that Atë had transported (or teleported, rather) them to was the capital city of California- Sacramento. Jason had been surprised that Atë had chosen there of all places to send them, but who knew what had went through the goddess's head.

"There's gotta be a Walmart around here somewhere, right?" Drew asked. In the dark, with no cars having passed them for a few minutes and the glow of the moon hidden by clouds, he could only see the wrinkle in her nose and the glitter of her eyes. "I mean, _every_ city should have a Walmart. It's like..." She paused, stepping over something that was probably roadkill. "Absolutely necessary."

"Stop," Jason sighed. He was exhausted, but he wasn't drowsy. Probably the worst form of tired to be. "We'll find one."

"If you say so..." Drew grumbled.

"I say so," Jason said. He smirked at her, surprised at how natural it felt. He didn't remember doing it once since he'd "woken up". "I'm your leader, after all. Or did you forget?"

The whites of Drew's eyes rolled as she looked away. "You make it impossible to."

Another smile pulled at his lips as Drew stomped ahead to walk in front of him. His mouth relaxed back into a frown after only a few short seconds; if they couldn't find a store soon, they'd have to turn back. They couldn't leave Leo alone for too long... who knew what could happen.

To Jason's surprise, they _did_ find a store after another ten minutes of worrying. The parking lot was almost deserted. The only other building nearby was a gas station across the street from the Walmart. As he passed, Jason glimpsed the bored cashier inside, bobbing their head to whatever music was playing in his earphones. Jason wished he could afford to be that bored.

More walking without conversation, both of them tense, and then they stood in front of the store. Drew glanced at Jason, face blank except for her furrowed brows. "Well... this is it, I guess."

Above the sliding doors, the white lettering of _Walmart_ flickered; beside it, the yellow flower had completely gone out. Jason and Drew exchanged another glance, before exhaling simultaneously as they prepared to walk in. For a moment, the bright lights disorientated Jason. When his vision had sorted itself out, the first thing he saw was the bulletin board on the wall, covered in missing posters.

His steps slowed, pausing as he stared. Missing... somewhere, right now, was he a missing loved one for someone? Wherever he'd come from, had missing posters been put up for him? He doubted it, being a demigod and all, but maybe...

Drew's hand touched the middle of his back. He startled, his skin tingling.

"Jason?" she said quietly. Not a question; her eyes didn't meet his, her gaze lingering on the same bulletin board he'd just been staring at. "...Come on. Let's hurry up and get this over with."

Once they'd walked into the store, Jason was surprised to see that there were only a few people inside. Close to being empty. He frowned, and then looked to Drew. She saw the question in his eyes before he voiced it, and shrugged. "It is kinda late."

He couldn't argue with that, nor stop the sigh that blew past his lips. "Well, these products aren't going to buy themselves."

Jason felt a brief spark of annoyance when Drew stopped to look at her reflection in a mirror. It quickly died as she ran her hands through her hair; the strands curled around her fingertips with some kind of weird magic, leaving it in a similar style to what it had been at Camp Half-Blood. Except this one was better, not that he would say it out loud. More... natural looking? Glossier? He didn't know.

Drew turned to him, mistaking the blank expression on his face for something else. "Hey, a girl's gotta freshen up every now and then."

"That's not..." Jason didn't finish, heading over to the aisles of supplies and tools. He felt Drew's eyes on his back before she rushed to catch up.

In almost no time at all, they'd gotten everything they needed; the basket hanging from his hand was now full. Jason tucked Leo's list back into his pocket. "That's everything... as favour to your leader, you'll have no problem paying for everything, right? Since I'm carrying all this heavy stuff..." He tried his best to look pathetic, slumping his shoulders and letting the basket drop close to the tiled floor.

"No problem at all, amigos," Drew said, her voice flat. "Leave all the expenses to me... chivalry really is dead these days..."

Jason ignored her sarcastic whining as they weaved through the aisles, rolling his eyes- and then he drew into a sudden stop, Drew bumping into him and jostling his arm. Before she could open her mouth and ask him what the hell he was stopping for, Jason spoke in a lowered voice: "Something's wrong."

"What could be-" Drew stopped, staring down at the white fog that curled around their ankles. "Oh," she whispered.

Jason lowered into a crouch, tugging her down to his level. "We have to get out of here."

They crept around the end of the aisle, staring down the next one; a woman meandered around the shelves, browsing through cleaning supplies. Drew was on her feet and running to the side of the woman, Jason too late to stop her, his mouth parted in a weak admonishment of her name. Drew talked to the woman in a hushed voice, blinking confusedly when she didn't respond. She tried again, with the same response. Jason could see the frustration in her face as she tried using her charmspeak- still no response. By the time he reached her, Drew was shaking the woman's shoulders hard enough to throw her head back.

Jason pulled her away gently. "Drew, stop it."

"I don't get it," Drew hissed out from between clenched teeth. "Why won't she-?"

"Magic, maybe. It's like your charmspeak, isn't it?" He stared at the woman, disturbed. She repeated the same actions, over and over, running her fingers over the prices and deals on the rims of the rows of the shelf. "We can't help her." He moved away, shaking his head. "We have to get out of here," Jason repeated.

There was anger in Drew's eyes when she looked at him; the fire burned out quickly, replaced by a calmer one. "There's someone controlling this, isn't there? If we confront them head on..."

"Without knowing who we're dealing with?" Jason retorted. Drew's confidence faded as she dropped her gaze. "...They want us, don't they?" he said finally. "If we leave, whoever it is will just come after us."

Drew sounded defeated. "I... You're right."

He took her hand and squeezed it, then moved it back to his side. Her hand had been almost ice-cold, trembling; Jason threw her as comforting a smile as he could manage. "We'll all get out of this fine, alright? Come on."

It was hard to creep around with the basket in his hands, but he managed it, his feet padding almost silently on the floor. He was even more surprised at the fact that Drew was quieter than he was- she'd never seemed the stealthy type. She crept ahead of him, looking around warily; at this point, the fog was thick enough to hide everything outside of about a five yard radius.

She held out a hand, stopping behind a shelf and drawing him behind her as she looked around the corner. "There's something there," she muttered, focused on whatever being lurked inside the haze.

After a few seconds, Jason heard it- the sound of heavy steps, _definitely_ something that weighed over three hundred pounds. Exhales, loud enough to reach their ears. Before long, a being burst out of the brume. Jason only caught a brief glimpse before Drew tugged him back, pressing back against the cereal boxes and behind the five-foot display of Honey Nut Cheerios.

In the look he'd gotten, Jason could recognize the monster, or maybe the person it _had_ been. Wearing the same sleeveless, denim biking jacket as those men who had been lounging in the McDonald's food court earlier, the same tattoo of a green woman embellished in his shoulder. In the crack between the shelf and the display, Jason could see its eyes- _one_ eye as it looked around, probably for them. No, definitely. The cyclop's mouth curled back in a savage grin, revealing crooked, large teeth.

"Demigods!" he roared. The chainsaw in his hands whirred to life- how the _hell_ had Jason not noticed that- the monster cranking it dangerously as he lumbered past before letting the machine die again. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

 _Don't notice us. For the love of the gods, please don't notice us._

Despite his lack of memories, Jason didn't think he was the kind of person to pray in times of trouble, but he found himself doing it now as the cyclop's back disappeared once more into the fog. Visions of blood and guts and his own limbs being torn off left his head- they were safe, if only for now. Jason could see his own horror etched in Drew's face as she shifted to stare at him, eyes wide. "What the fuck was that?" she said in a short, shaky breath.

"Something- something not good," Jason said. Goosebumps sprouted on his arms- when had the temperature dropped so rapidly? Their breath misted in the air, and as a matter of fact he could see frost spreading across the floor. What. The. Fuck. Jason didn't think he was one for profanity either, but now it was the only thing that filled his thoughts.

Something very funny was going on.

What an understatement.

"There's no way we can take that thing head on," Drew breathed.

Another vision of torn body parts flashed in front of Jason's eyes. "Yeah. Probably not."

Drew rubbed her forehead. "How many of them are there? Shit." She lifted her gaze to him. "We might have gotten off lightly. Most cyclops aren't the brightest tools in the toolshed."

"I feel so lucky," Jason stated flatly. He shook his head. "There's gasoline in one of the aisles, a few away from here," he whispered. "I have some matches on me. Maybe we could..."

Drew smiled weakly. "Nice try, but cyclops aren't flammable. Anything else, and that might have worked."

"Great." Jason bit his lip. "First things first, we should- find out how many there are, then make a plan. Whatever works." His teeth were beginning to break the skin; he released his lip, faintly tasting blood. "I draw them out, you back me up. Once all of them are gathered, you use your charmspeak, we run, then we make something more concrete."

Drew blinked. "Not the best plan I've heard."

"You got anything better?"

"No," she admitted.

"Give me my coin. Let's..." Jason drew in a deep breath. "Let's do this."

Jason waited for Drew to disappear behind the next aisle, and then he made his move. He'd only stepped out into plain sight for a few seconds when he was thrown back into danger. Jason heard it before he saw it; he lurched backwards in a backflip, narrowly missing the chainsaw as it swept in a wide berth through the air where his torso had been.

The cyclops loomed above him, his face shadowed as his lips pulled back in a maniacal grin worthy of the Chesire Cat. A cold droplet of sweat trickled down Jason's cheek. "Little demigod," the monster rumbled in a low purr, "I knew you'd come out of your hiding place eventually."

The cyclops came at Jason with another swing, and he dodged to the side, thus beginning their dance. He did his best evade the monster's attacks, knowing that he could never hope to match him in battle with his weapon- not when the chainsaw was made out of Celestial Bronze, as Jason could see now that it was staring him in the face.

Whenever Jason's hands touched the floor, they were bitten by frost. He ignored the pain, launching himself into a somersault through the gap between the monster's legs. Jason wasn't sure if cyclops had sex organs, but he didn't hesitate in stretching out his leg enough for a kick to the nuts as he tumbled. The monster bent over, groaning and clutching the aforementioned spot; Jason jumped to his feet and ran.

Only to come face to face with four more cyclops. Jason flipped his coin in time to catch one of the cyclops' blades with his own as it swept down in a swift strike that would have cut him in half if not for his timing. Jason gritted his teeth, throwing all of his strength into pushing back the sword- a claymore, of all things. The cyclops gave as good as it got- even more. The force of its power pushed him down, the ice cracking under his feet and his knees bending. He had no hope of overpowering it. That much was obvious.

Not that it mattered. A third cyclops came at him while he was preoccupied with defending himself from being cut down, forcing Jason to drop the standstill and dive into a roll to dodge the spiked club, throwing his coin into the air as he did so. It flipped once, twice- he caught it as a lance as he rolled, coming up in a crouch.

Jason narrowed his eyes, cataloguing the enemy's weapons. With the lance, he was at a disadvantage when it came to close-range... which for the moment, worked in his favour. Considering the large weapons these monsters weld, fighting long-range was probably for the best. After a moment of mapping out a plan of attack in his head, Jason charged.

He darted for the one with the club first, sweeping low for a thrust to the cyclops's midsection- a feint, as he jumped up to avoid the cudgel that went low for his head, sliding his grip to the middle of the staff as he spun. He used the momentum to bring the spear-end of the lance down on the cyclops's neck, slicing through cleanly. Golden blood splattered on Jason's face. As soon as his feet touched the ground once more, he fell into a couple of back-handsprings to avoid any counterattacks, gaining distance before he rose again.

It was a good thing he had; jagged, large throwing knives littered the frosted tiles that he had flipped over. The icy breeze circulating through the store cooled his skin, and Jason shivered. Not from the cold- a rush of excitement coursed through his body, and he grinned, hardly exhausted in the slightest. Fighting, he was more at ease than he had been in hours. This was something natural. Something that he _knew_ , that his body remembered. _One down. Four more to go._

At least, he had thought so. Sand drifted from the neck of the beheaded cyclops, connecting to the rest of the body that lay a few feet away, hardening into something like wire and pulling the two separated parts together. Jason's mouth fell open. _What-_

He jumped aside just in time to avoid the claymore that cleaved the floor where he'd been standing only a couple of seconds before. He raised his spear in a defensive stance, gritting his teeth. Jason's anticipatory grin had long faded. He'd forgotten about the monsters' regeneration time, something Annabeth had explicitly warned him about before he left camp... he dodged countless blows, looking at the fallen cyclops body from his peripheral as it formed into the whole it had been. Counting.

...Thirty seconds. He only had thirty seconds of reprieve every time he killed one of these beasts.

He had no choice but to go back into battle, until he found an opportunity to escape. Sweat began to pool on Jason's forehead; it didn't matter how many times he impaled these monsters through the heart or the head. There was always another one to take one's place as it died, until the other came back. No room for Jason to flee when he was constantly blocking or dodging blows. If things didn't change, there _would_ be no opening... and he'd be totally screwed.

Jason made to run for another attack, before his foot slipped. And lucky it did, as the chainsaw that definitely would have sliced his head in half managed a small swipe of his cheek instead. His back landed on the ice hard, all the air in his chest leaving him; Jason ignored his inability to breathe as he brought his lance around, carving off the chainsaw cyclops's feet off and sending the weaponized machine spinning across the ground. It continued like that, at something that was almost like a draw. He gained the advantage, only to lose it, over and over...

It'd only been three minutes since the fight had started, but it felt like an eternity. Jason was just about to lose hope, shifting his lance to his left hand for a last-ditch attempt at summoning the strongest blast of wind he could manage, when a voice rung out above the ominous purr of the chainsaw. " _Hey!"_

Drew stood in front of them, leaning against a display with her hip jutted out in a pose that was undoubtedly attractive. Her black curls fell over her face in just the right way, her rose pink lips curled in a flirtatious grin. She sighed, tilting her head to expose the pale line of her throat. " _Fellas... do a pretty lady a favour and stand still, please."_

The cyclops stilled. Jason did as well for a brief moment before shaking himself out of the charmspeak-induced daze. Drew had given him just the opening he'd required. With a tug of his hand, a rope of wind binded the cyclops together; a clench of his fist, and it bisected them in half cleanly.

Jason grabbed Drew's hand, pulling her away with him as he ran, as far away as he could get from these monsters. He heard Drew swear behind him as she quickly snatched up the basket with the supplies they'd come for, sounding more like her old self instead of whatever... that had been. They passed by more robot-like shoppers, Jason unable to suppress a wince each time they did so.

Once they were on the other side of the Walmart, Jason was able to breathe safely once more, letting his lance drop to the floor. He risked a quick glance around the counter they'd knelt behind, before looking back to Drew. He shot her a feeble smile. "Thought you'd abandoned me for a second there."

Drew glanced up sharply. "Don't joke about that."

His smile died in his confusion. And here he'd thought he'd been getting better at his post-battle banter... "What?"

Drew looked back down at the basket in her lap. "I wouldn't do that. Abandon you."

Jason wanted to say that he knew that she wouldn't, that she wasn't that cruel and that in some unbelievable way he'd come to trust her, but his voice had left him.

"I mean it." Drew reached out her thumb, swiping away the thin tear of blood that had trailed down his jaw from the cut on his cheek, lightly landing in small circles on the white tile beneath him. The gentleness of the gesture was at odds with her harsh tone. Jason almost flinched from the sensation. Her finger was warm despite the area, and the pain in his cheek momentarily dulled.

Her eyes met his, dark and serious as she pulled her hand away. "I might be an asshole, but I'd never leave you to die."

"I..." Jason swallowed, his mouth dry. "I knew that. Sorry. Bad joke."

Drew gave him a withering look, then sighed. "So... five of them, and another that must be controlling this fog, and ice or whatever. That about right?"

"Yeah." Jason rubbed at his face with his sleeve, wiping away more blood, red and gold. He looked around again, lowering his voice. "We can't kill them long enough for it to stick. But we can immobilize them, at least for enough time to get out of here. Here's the plan..."

Drew looked startled once he'd finished speaking. "So there _are_ some brains in all that brawn. Wow." The surprise dwindled away, a smirk taking its place. "That might even be a plan worthy of Annabeth. Let's do it."

It was easy enough to locate the cyclops again. They made no effort to hide their presence, cursing at and arguing with each other.

Jason signalled to Drew, a few feet away from him as they both hid in the brume, still out of the monsters' view. _Ready?_

 _No,_ she mouthed. She was ready. Jason held up his hand, counting down from five, before he burst from the fog. "Hey, uglies!"

The cyclops all turned to him, incredulous. Jason took a deep breath- he only had enough strength left to do this once. He wasn't sure if he'd ever tried something like this before, but you never knew until you tried.

Jason slammed his hands together. A bubble of wind formed around the monsters, preventing anything from getting in. And... sucking everything else out.

("Listen," Jason said. "You know how everything freezes in space?"

Drew blinked. "Well... Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?"

Jason smiled, wagging his index finger. "Do you know why?" he asked. "It's because it's a vacuum. If there's no air, there's no temperature. If there's no heat to get through...")

He'd created a mini-space bubble around the cyclops, so to speak. But it took much more out of him than Jason had thought it would. Focusing on not letting anything in- radiation from the lights, even the already cold environment of the store, keeping all the air away- it was hard. Pushing it, even for a son of Jupiter. Or maybe the only reason this was all so straining was because the effect of Atë's drug lingered on his body... Jason slightly stumbled, panting.

He'd waited long enough. Jason pulled his hands apart, and the bubble popped.

The cyclops were still standing as they had been before Jason had unleashed his powers, their expressions stuck in a final expression of surprise. Completely frozen, covered in white crystal patterns that might have seemed as pretty as they were if not for the reality of the situation. It reminded him too much of Boreas and his family. Speaking of Boreas...

The ice that was coating everything...

Not the time to ponder. "Drew!" Jason shouted.

"Got it!" She was already swinging the baseball they'd grabbed from a nearby stack before she finished the sentence.

The first cyclops statue crumbled to pieces, followed by another, and another. Drew was thorough in her work; by the time she'd finished going to town on the cyclops' bodies, shards covered the floor. She walked over to him, remnants of the cyclops crunching under the heels of her boots. "That should be all of them."

"...No," Jason said. "That was only four, not-"

He didn't finish. He tackled Drew out of the way of the incoming cyclops, narrowly throwing her out of the path of its charge.

"You okay?" Jason asked, raising himself off Drew and hovering above her.

She was staring to the side, hair in disarray. "Y-Yeah," she murmured. "What now?"

The cyclops's blind charge had left it unable to stop from crashing into the bike section. Now it sat there underneath a pile, disoriented.

In his rush to get Drew out of the way he'd dropped his coin; the gold glinted, too far away for him to grab in time without the cyclops seeing him. Jason glanced down at his hand, noting the ball of wire lying nearby. "I've got something."

He grabbed two gardening tools- not the best things to create a garotte with, but you made with what you got. He unrolled the wire to a length that would be long enough, going by the cyclops's size. Drew's eyes glittered as she understood. "Here," she said, pulling a knife out of her boot and cutting the wire. They both worked in tandem, tying the ends of the wire to the tools.

Jason tugged at the makeshift garrote, making sure it was tight. "We'll have to make sure our timing is right," he said. "You ready?"

This time, Drew didn't say no, grinning. "You bet."

The cyclops was careening as it looked for them, head swiveling side to side. Golden blood ran down one side of its face. "Demigods!" it roared. "You cowards! Enough hiding!"

Jason stood up, gathering his weight on the balls of his feet. "Let's do this."

They stepped out from their shelter at the same time, sprinting at the cyclops. It looked surprised by their sudden attack, but after a moment of confusion its eyes darkened with bloodlust as it lowered, fists at the ready.

Drew and Jason didn't falter in their run. Beside him, her feet were just as fast as his, their breathing synchronized. Jason waited until they were a few feet from the cyclops. "Now!" he hissed, only loud enough for Drew to hear. They both darted aside at the last second, then leaped through the air- high enough for the wire to slice through the cyclops's neck.

It slammed back into the cold steel of the end of the aisle behind its back choking on what sounded like its own blood. Their shared force hadn't been enough. Jason yanked the tool forward with all his strength; on the other side of the shelves, Drew seemed to have had the same idea.

The cyclops's head dropped to the floor with a _thump_.

Jason dropped the garotte, running back to where the cyclops's dismembered body lay and bringing his hand through the air, sharp as a sword. Wind chopped the remains of the cyclops into bloody pieces. It was enough. It had to be.

Jason fell to his feet, blood dripping down from his nose, a sharp burst of pain behind his eyes. He clutched his forehead, his bangs falling through the gaps in his fingers. "N-Not now..."

Drew ran to his side. She seemed hesitant to touch him, but after a second wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him to his feet. She slipped her hand into his jean pocket, tucking his coin into it for him. Her voice was quiet. "You went over your limits?" Jason didn't respond. He didn't need to. "...Idiot."

"I disagree with that statement," he said, unable to keep the exhaustion from his tone.

"Shut up." Drew's lip curled, and she grumbled under her breath. "So distasteful."

( _Open your ears, Jason. Listen.)_

Jason's foot skittered across the iced tiles as he spun around, throwing Drew behind him and raising his hand. " _Obstructio!"_

The large, thick javelin of ice that would have killed them both met its end against a wall of air, shattering it into bits. Darkness bloomed across his vision except for a few slivers of light. He fell to his knees, unconsciousness waiting to take him into its arms.

The shadow over his eyes vanished, a couple of black dots still blooming. A hooded figure stood a few yards away, hands held in front of them. Their gloved fingertips were covered in frost, white mist shrouding their hands.

"Dammit!" Drew was on her feet in an instant, knife spinning in her hands as she dashed at the figure. " _Stand still!_ "

The figure obeyed long enough for Drew to get within reach and slash her knife. Blood- red, Jason noted- flew into the air as the figure fell back, stunned. The hood fell back from their face; Jason managed a glance of blond hair and wide green eyes before they disappeared.

Drew, who'd been gearing up for another slash, paused once she realized they were gone. She straightened, wiping the blood on her knife off on her skirt. She sheathed it and tucked it back into her boot, before whirling around to him, scowling. "Great."

Jason shuddered, his breathing laboured. He was so... cold.

The next thing he knew, a water bottle was being shoved into his hands. "Drink," Drew instructed. Her tone left no room for argument. "The last thing I need is for you to pass out."

Jason laughed shakily, accepting the water and twisting off the cap. "You really need me that much, huh?"

He practically guzzled it; Drew snatched the bottle from him. "Slow down, Jaybird. You trying to make yourself throw up?"

Jason drank it slower, keeping his grumbles to himself. The last of the black spots faded from his eyes. "Thanks."

Drew sighed. "You don't need to thank me for that." She reached out and ruffled his hair. Jason blinked at her from underneath her hand. "...Stop pushing yourself so hard," she said, her hand stilling. "Me, you, and Leo- we're a team, alright? You can let us carry the burden every now and then. From, now on, I..." She hesitated, then pushed on. "I swear."

Jason ducked his head as she pulled away. "...You, Leo and I," he muttered. "Your grammar is wrong."

They rounded up all the customers and cashiers inside the store, making sure they left safely. Drew humphed once the last of them left. "That's our cue to leave," she said. "I'm not waiting around long enough to become monster chow. Those cyclops will have left come dawn. I wouldn't want to be around for cleanup, though." She looked around, somewhat abashed at the disastrous state of the store.

When he still didn't reply, Drew frowned and turned to him. "Jason?"

He'd only reached down to pick a fallen teddy bear off the floor, but now, he couldn't move, the stuffed animal still clenched in his hands.

 **xXx**

 _Jason stared out the window, caught between the realm of dreaming and reality. He started every time his eyes began to close- he didn't want to sleep, not now... big boys only slept at night, not during the day. He was three, almost four; he was a big boy now._

 _Beside him, Thalia was weirdly silent. Usually, she liked to jostle him whenever they were in the car, tug at his hair and ears and tease him to bring herself out of her boredom. Now she sat, still, staring out of the window at her side of the vehicle. Her eyes were cloudy; just like Mommy's got, sometimes, when she sat in the worn sofa in the living room of their home for hours and stared at the fireplace. He could never get her to talk to him when she was like that._

 _Jason pouted, hugging Teddy to his chest. "Thalia," he said. She didn't respond. "Thalia." Nothing. He threw the teddy bear at her._

 _Her head snapped up at that, eyes wide and startled before narrowing. She was only ten- not that much of a big kid either, but her gaze was terrifying. Jason recoiled back into his seat. "What-" she started to growl, before their mother spoke up._

 _Her fingers were white on the steering wheel, but her blond, glamorous curls hid her face from view. "Jason, don't throw things at your sister. And Thalia, don't treat your brother like that." Her voice was distant. Mommy sounded lost again. Lost- he'd just learned that word. Jason felt lost a lot, even though he wasn't._

 _Thalia slumped in her seat. "I didn't mean that," she muttered, and handed the teddy bear to him._

 _Jason bit his lip, the cut on his mouth from the staple still raw. "Sorry, Thalia."_

 _"It's okay," Thalia said, crossing her arms. Her eyes were already clouding again._

 _Not wanting to incite her annoyance, Jason scowled at the pink stain on the brown fabric of the car's interior instead of the cheek cupped in her hand. He and Thalia had been sharing a smoothie, but they'd ended up fighting over it and causing it to spill; they hadn't talked to each other for a full day._

 _He glanced at her hesitantly. What was wrong with her and Mommy? Why wouldn't they talk... he didn't like the quiet. Quiet reminded him of the scary monsters hiding under the bed and in the closet that Thalia always talked about to spook him, of bad things and sad things... so heavy. Silence was heavy in his family._

 _Outside the car, trees with green leaves freshly grown in the wake of spring rolled by, underneath a wide expanse of blue sky. A sign passed- Jack London State Historic Park?_

 _After a few more minutes of driving, Mommy pulled into a parking lot- empty. The thought that such a thing was strange crossed over Jason's mind, but it disappeared as his mother stepped out of the car and came to his side, opening the door and reaching in to unbuckle him._

 _Thalia was scowling. "Mom, what's this really about?"_

 _"Later, Thalia," Mommy said, picking him up. Thalia climbed out of the car, her scowl even stormier._

 _Jason frowned, looking up at the sky; pink and orange was beginning to bloom on the horizon. Sunset. "Can we go home soon?"_

 _"Of course," Mommy assured. "But how about a nice picnic first, hmm?"_

 _The last of the blue was fading by the time Mommy stopped walking. "Thalia, why don't you head back to the car?"_

 _Thalia's voice was incredulous. "What? Why?"_

 _Their mother shrugged a shoulder. "I forgot the picnic basket," she said. "Could you go and get it, please?"_

 _For a moment, Thalia didn't move. Then she sighed, her expression less severe as her scowl relaxed back into the natural lines of her face. "Fine." The sounds of her footsteps heading back, crunching on leaves and grass grew more and more quiet until they were completely inaudible. Gone._

 _Jason lifted his head from where it'd been tucked into the juncture between Mommy's neck and shoulder, loosening his grip around her neck- he hadn't wanted to lift his head while they'd walked along the path, succumbing to his sleepiness. But the motionless posture of his mother didn't feel right... beneath his ear, her heart had started to race. "Mommy?"_

 _"Beryl Grace. So you've come." Jason flinched- he hadn't noticed anyone else was there. Seated at the edge of a mansion of ruins was a woman; her brown hair fell past her shoulders in an elegant plait that reached her waist, a wreath of golden flowers at the crown of her head. She wore a blue dress, a coat made of the fur of some animal hanging around her shoulders. A staff topped with a pretty flower that Jason struggled to remember the name of lay across her lap- the kind of flower you saw in a pond, that frogs sometimes liked to rest on._

 _The woman uncrossed her legs, standing up. "So you've accepted my proposition?"_

 _"Y-Yes." His mother's voice was trembling. And so were the arms around him. Jason could only remember a few times that she shook like this, unsteady. When scary men were over, big and loud and looming, and sometimes the echo of something sharp rung through the empty hallways in the house..._

 _The woman smiled. "A wise choice. This was for the best, Beryl Grace. Remember that."_

 _Jason blinked as his mother walked over to the woman, her embrace going loose as she got closer. What was she-?_

 _His mother handed him over to the stranger. Jason let out a cry that soon died in his throat as the woman glanced down at him with stony, calculating eyes. The power in that gaze... it stopped him from speaking completely. A quiver began to spread through his body, from his toes to the top of his head. It terrified him._

 _The woman adjusted him in her arms. "Do you have anything... final to say?"_

 _Final? The end... why...?_

 _His mother looked at him then. Jason didn't know what he saw in her gaze, at first- love? All parents were supposed to love their children, after all... although his mind couldn't describe exactly what he thought this was. It was unidentifiable to him._

 _A second passed, and then a shadow hung over her eyes. They turned as dark as the sky, as murky as the liquid that she sometimes drank that turned her cruel, ready to hit or swear at him at a moment's notice... that was what her eyes looked like now. Like she was about to do something that would pain him in a way that his too-small heart couldn't cope with._

 _"I have nothing to say," his mother said. "He's not my son. Take him."_

 _An emotion, then. Something he would never be able to explain in words._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _It was so dark..._

 _Jason ran, somehow still holding on to his teddy bear, that ruined thing his mother had given him as a passing thought- it wouldn't protect him now, like it did in his nightmares as he turned and kicked in his bed, sheets sweaty._ _The treetops towered over his head, not even allowing the slightest sliver of moonlight to slip through._ _His knees and elbows and arms and hands bled, enough that he wanted to bawl, but fear prevented him from doing so._

 _There were monsters in the dark._

 _They stared at him from behind bushes and trunks, golden eyes glowing and luminescent. Fairytales and bedtime stories..._

 _ **What big teeth you have, Grandmother...**_

 _He was Little Red Riding Hood, running from the Big Bad Wolf- no, **Wolves**. And there was no one coming to save him._

 _Jason ran until the clouds parted to reveal the moon. He ran until the moon started to drop from the sky, blue slithering through the midnight black. He ran until the sun rose, bringing pink and purple and orange with it. He ran until daybreak._

 _He ran until he_ _could run no more._

 _Jason collapsed into a pile of dead leaves, panting. His scrapes and cuts ached, more than he could ever remember hurting before. He curled around Teddy, wishing he could close his eyes and wake up, just wake up..._

 _The Big Bad Wolf was standing over him, teeth curled back in a horrible, horrible grin. **All the better to eat you with, my dear.**_

 _"Jason Grace," the monster growled, "Son of Jupiter. Are you worthy of the Legion?"_

 _..._

 _He was alone._

 _It was so lonely..._

 **xXx**

The stuffed animal's beady black eyes were bugging out, staring at him, through him. Soulless.

"Jason?"

He dropped the teddy bear and left the store, hauling the basket up behind him. The doors slid open for him like they were in a hurry, as if they were rushing to get out of his way.

"Jason!" Drew jogged to catch up with him, struggling to keep up with his pace once he slowed down to a brisk walk. "What the hell happened?"

Jason clenched his jaw, not trusting himself to speak. "Flashback," he finally managed to grit out.

Drew's eyes widened with understanding. " _Oh._ Oh."

Why had his mother left him? With a goddess, _Juno_ of all Olympians to choose from...!

The lights of Walmart were just beginning to dim behind them, the road empty of cars. Jason stormed past a large pine before he stopped, whirling around with a roundhouse kick and slamming his foot into the wide trunk.

It shook with a loud creak, needles whistling from the force and the wind. Jason lowered his leg that still stung and tingled with the action, not expecting anything else. A roar still struggled to rip from his throat, before a pile of snow and cones fell down on his head with a light _plop_.

Jason stood paralyzed, speechless. And then a startled laugh burst from his mouth, at the sheer ridiculousness of it. The anger faded abruptly. All that was left was sorrow and misery and an echoing hollowness, like there was a hole in his chest. He just wanted to cry.

He leaned his forehead against the rough bark, nails digging into the ragged wood. "...It's so lonely," he said, not bothering to fight back the tears that twinged behind his eyes. "It hurts. It hurts so much."

Drew didn't speak for what felt like a long time. Jason waited for the tears to stop, not entirely sure why he was crying. After all, it was just a memory... something that had happened years ago. So far back in the past that it felt silly to even mourn over it. No use in crying over spilled milk, as the saying went. When he finally turned around and their eyes met, Drew's gaze was downcast. "Leo's waiting for us. We should head back."

She didn't ask just what was lonely, what it was that hurt so much. But she hesitated, playing with her intertwined fingers as she stared down at the snow beneath their feet. "...And we can talk about it, all of us," she offered. "If you want. I'm not the best listener or the kindest, but... I'm here. And so is Leo."

Jason wanted to. He really, really did. But he couldn't. The words just wouldn't come, except for- _my mother left me._

 **xXx**

He wasn't sure what had run through his mother's head back then.

Had it been some twisted, final act of love? Doing it for the betterment of her child? If that had been the truth, maybe Jason could have lived with it. But he wasn't sure it was. She'd been an abusive alcoholic, not even a mother. Hated him, maybe. Resented him, even more likely. At the end, he didn't know. He didn't understand.

And he probably never would.

* * *

 **Ending note:**

Holy crap. You wouldn't believe how long it took for me to write this, outside of school and all that other crap. The action scenes took me the longest, but they were fun to write. The emotional stuff? Heavy, but it came easily. I always thought that the effect of having Jason's mother abandon him to Juno was rather ignored in canon, which is why I featured it in this chapter. All in all, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Hopefully, I'll go back to resuming my weekly updates- as long as I deal with my school work wisely.

Also- did you know flashbacks are actually an effect of LCD? Yup. So if you were wondering why Jason was triggered into having one and why Atë said he would be grateful in the last chapter, there you go. (Tbh, I'm not sure if it would still work with amnesia, but I'm taking some creative liberty here. It's magic, doesn't work the same way as reality does). And I know that Celestial Bronze/Imperial Gold are the only things that works on monsters, but for the sake of the story, pretend that mortal weapons work too- just to a lesser effect.

Anyways, R & R, please!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I don't know why this chapter took me so long, but it did. Writer's block is a bitch, guys. As well as schoolwork.

Anyways, I hope you read, enjoy, and leave a comment at the end of the chapter!

* * *

 **{9.}**

The snow layered around her feet could have been bundles of white roses, if Drew closed her eyes and tried hard enough, ignoring the cold and the prickles it imprinted into her limbs. She could see her father's face, laughter in his mouth as he turned to her and smiled, his hair hiding the rest of his face and the sun shining brightly behind him...

She opened her eyes, and the daydream faded, as did the imaginary warmth it had lent her. Drew stepped back from the tree she had been leaning against, uncrossing her arms. As she looked back to glance at the tree, a lone bird perched in its branches- a white dove. Drew stared at it, before shaking her head and looking away. It wasn't a message. It wasn't. "Is Festus almost ready?"

"Yeah," Leo answered distractedly. From the basket they'd brought with them from Walmart, he picked up a cleaner and began spraying Festus's control disk, before wiping it down. "Just a few more minutes..."

Drew made a small noise in her throat in assent, then looked to Jason, who sat at the other end of the clearing. Like her, he was leaning against a tree; but with his knees to his chest and his bangs in his eyes, it was hard to tell his expression. It definitely wasn't a happy one.

She had no clue whether she should go over and try to talk to him. It wasn't as if they actually liked each other; it was a necessity to talk and work together if they wanted to survive this quest. Still, it felt wrong to just stand here and do nothing...

 _Piper would have said something._

Drew scowled, slamming the thought back into the depths in which it'd come forth. What a stupid thought, like she hadn't already tried to talk to him. And a dumb time to think of her little sister- who was probably safe and sound in her own bed back at Camp Half-Blood. Damn, Drew _envied_ her. Not for the looks. She wanted her own soft, fluffy bed to sleep in, not some freezing mattress of snow.

She frowned, thoughts drifting somewhere else. Leo probably needed some comfort of his own. He'd be easier to talk to than Jason, Drew thought- the son of Jupiter turned into a rock whenever she had tried to do anything short of prying. Except for that thing with his mother...

Drew swallowed, rubbing the back of her neck, her mouth dry. She knew what it was like to be abandoned by a parent. Somewhat.

Anyways, she imagined it wasn't any different for Leo when he tried to talk to Jason. Still, Leo was probably more forthcoming, unlike him- at least he dealt in humour. And besides, if Jason was in the right mind, he'd be comforting Leo. The least Drew could do was take his place, for the moment.

Drew ruffled her hair with her hand, sighing, before she straightened and plodded over to his side. Drew stared down at the mess of wires and parts he was putting together blankly, unable to make sense of it at all. You had to give it to the children of Hephaestus; they were all incredibly smart- even on par with Athena's kids. "How's it... going?" she asked awkwardly.

Leo shrugged. "Fine. Like I said, almost done."

Drew nodded. Silence fell between them, as heavy as the snow fall.

Figured. As soon as she tried to have a genuine heart-to-heart, she was struck speechless. She was only ever good at breaking down others, not building them up. Black heart, and all that other nonsense. Drew scowled, crossing her arms and biting her lip. How could she...? Yes, talk about something else first.

"You said Festus was tampered with, right?" Drew asked. "How so?"

Leo placed the disk back in the dragon, and moved on to fiddling with the wires, his hand glowing golden as he defrosted them, face tight as his power burned away in the dark. "Ice," he said. "If I had to guess, one of the lords of the wind, or maybe their children. Most likely the Boreads."

Drew blinked, surprised. Although that's where her suspicions had been going... "What makes you say that?"

Leo pulled his hand out of the dragon, everything shrouded in night once more as his warmth winked away. He shrugged again, this time thoughtful instead of brushing her off. "They have motive, right?" he asked. "If anything, Aeolus could order someone like the Boreads to do it. Even if it wasn't an order from someone up, if they have something against Hera or the Olympians, they're the only- gods, I guess, that we've talked to so far. They know where we're going, and just how we're getting there. If anyone could sabotage us so directly, it's them."

Drew worried a chapped lip between her teeth. "I think I underestimated you."

Leo laughed; a low sound, with undertones of something disparaging. "Thanks? I'll take that as compliment. But it's not that hard of a conclusion to come to. I mean..." He paused. "It's like high school, right? If you're angry at someone, a bully or some popular kid, and you can't get to them, you get to the people you can instead. Their friends, supporters, whoever's the reachable target."

The analogy wasn't as weird as it seemed. The edge of Drew's mouth quirked up in a smirk; godly politics really did resemble squabbling teenagers some- no, most of the time. A high school hierarchy.

But she'd heard it in his laugh. He was the self-decrepating type, huh?

It wasn't like Drew to psychoanalyze, but it was easy enough to see for anyone who was paying attention. Hidden beneath smiles and humours, his heart still showed on his sleeve, if even for the briefest of moments.

"It _was_ a compliment," she said, "And you're wrong. Some people still wouldn't be able to come to that conclusion. You're smarter than you realize, Leo."

He blinked, and ducked his head. "...Thanks," he murmured. She could see the beginnings of a pleased smile on the edge of his lips.

Drew rolled back on her heels, exhaling deeply. She knew she was about to take away what little happiness was there. "Listen," she said. "About earlier..."

Immediately, it faded. Drew could see the walls coming up in his eyes, fortifying. So whatever she said next wouldn't break him. Or so he could be prepared for it.

She lowered to a kneel, on his eye-level. "What happened might have been murder." A sharp inhale. "It might have been an accident. I don't know for certain. I don't think Jason does, either."

Leo swallowed, his hair falling to cover his eyes. "Drew, I _know_ ," he said. He released a shaky breath. "I-I don't know what to tell you. My powers, they've never been- I can't control them that well. Not like that. What happened there with that girl, it was- it was my fault."

For a short while, nothing was said. And then, " _That's_ how I know for certain."

Leo looked at her, incredulous. "What?"

Drew herself was surprised at the big smile on her face. "If it was cold-blooded murder, you wouldn't say that," she said. "Hell, you wouldn't _talk_ about it with me. You wouldn't take the blame. And you wouldn't look so guilty." She shook her head. "That's how I know. It was an accident, wasn't it?"

Leo looked like he was about to cry, if he hadn't already- though Drew was quite certain he had, given how red his eyes had been when she and Jason had returned. His gaze dropped from her as he plunged his hands back into Festus's system, to fix something other than himself. "It's still my fault," he said. "Intentional or not. My fire. My flames. Her death."

"What were you trying to do with them?"

Leo's expression was once more incredulous. "What?"

Drew rolled her eyes. "Your powers. What were you trying to do with them?"

Leo's frowned at his lap, jeans dotted with oil and grease. "...Defend myself," he murmured, almost inaudible.

"Ehhh?" Drew placed her hand behind her ear, eyebrows raised. "You're gonna have to say that again. A little _louder_ , please?"

Leo's eyes shot up to her, large and angry. "I was trying to defend myself from that horse, _okay_?" His gaze wavered between her and Festus, falling back into dismay as he slumped over, sighing.

Drew wasn't mean enough to feel pleased that she'd gotten a rise out of him. "See?" she asked softly. Leo looked at her, reluctant. "It wasn't your fault. If anyone, it was Atë's. _E_ _ntiendes_?"

Leo sighed. "I understand," he echoed quietly.

Faintly, Drew smiled. And then her usual scowl returned, as she raised her voice. "And I'm sure _Jason_ would say the same thing if he was _present_ in this conversation. _Right_ , Jason?"

Leo moved his eyes past her annoyed form to the aforementioned boy. Jason smiled uncertainly, as if guilty to be caught eavesdropping. "Right."

"Now that that's all settled," Drew started loudly. She lost her confidence almost immediately. "I, um, have something to show you. To show Jason, really." She reached inside her jacket for the pocket stitched secretly inside. Once her fingers found the object they were looking for, she closed her eyes. "Here," she said, pulling out a vial of slightly glowing, pink liquid.

 **xXx**

"What will it be, daughter of Aphrodite?" Medea asked, her voice low. Beautiful. _Taunting_. "Make your choice, child, before _I_ make it for you. Someone has to die. Choose the right one, and I _might_ let you go."

The panic attack was pulling Drew in almost too deeply to hear. Her vision swam, black and gray and white. Breathing like a fish gulping for the water it so desperately needed, for its only salvation. "I can't choose. I can't choose. I can't choose I can't choose I can't choose."

A sharp slap against her face. Hot, stinging pain. Clawed hands, the hands of a monster gripping her shoulders. "You can and you _will_ , Tanaka Drew."

Drew backed away, shaking her head. _Breathe. Breathe, Drew._ She slowed her breathing, focusing on counting to ten. Old exercises they taught at Camp to newcomers- that had been years ago, for Drew. She swallowed, the world in her eyes no longer monochrome.

And she was no longer unable to think. What the _fuck_? Let Jason kill Leo, or Leo kill Jason? Let the both of them die? All _three_ of them die? What type of choice- no, it wasn't a choice, it was a goddamn ultimatum. Except Medea hadn't even told Drew what it was _supposed_ to be, what the point even fucking _was_.

Was this a test? No, it was some sort of twisted _game_ , for Medea's own deranged amusement. _Make a choice, Drew. Which one will it be? You're on a time limit, you know? Not everyone can get out of this alive. Tick tock, tick tock! Pick one **already** , for gods' sake. Like the damned game this is. Duck, duck, **goose** -_

"Shut up, shut up, shut _up_ ," Drew told herself, smacking her head. Smack. Smack. Smack.

 _Figure this out, goddammit. Use your brain. Think. Unless you really are another useless child of **love**?_

Percy or Annabeth probably would have gotten a way out of this already. Drew smiled darkly to herself. Well, not everyone could be some grand fucking hero that saved the day every time, _could they_?

"Your time is running out, girl."

 _Fuck_. Drew hissed out a breath from between her clenched teeth. When it came down to it, Jason was the logical choice to pick. The namesake of Medea's most hated person? He was doomed from the fucking start. There wasn't a lot here to do, except-

 _What, Drew? What else is there?_

Fight. She could fight. Except she wasn't much good at that. No, Drew was a person who hid behind her words, all bluster and no action- after all, at the heart she was a dirty coward. Couldn't take a punch without crying, probably. No, she let her magic twist her voice into something lovely as she whispered into the ears of her victims, sweet nothings and offers and promises that they were _never_ able to reject-

Yes, she was a coward. What else could she be? Drew was a daughter of Aphrodite. Everyone knew who they were.

Behind the beautiful appearance, something ugly simmered. Appearances were deceiving, and underneath all the shine lay the rot. They were frivolous things, children of Aphrodite, jealous and petty and the furthest thing away from something you could ever love. They just weren't meant to be. It was a curse.

Even the person who'd seemed to be the best of them all hadn't been; Silena had betrayed everyone in the end, after all. It was a miracle that Camp Half-Blood had still managed to celebrate her as a hero, someone who deserved to be remembered and honoured, but Silena Beauregard had always been the exception to the rule that plagued them all.

No, none of the children of this particular goddess were heroes.

Drew was nothing more than a simple bully who hurt her own brothers and sisters. She knew what she was doing to them, and didn't stop. After all, they deserved it, didn't they? None of them would ever grow up to be good people. No, Silena had proved that. Better to shove them down into the dirt now, before they could get too haughty, too caught up in revealing smiles and flirting eyes. No, better to make them whimper and cry, give them the chance to fight back and watch as they didn't take it, fail to prove her wrong and follow Cabin Ten's bullshit rites and rules- no, they were all horrible. If her siblings were really good people, they would have proved her wrong, denied her false ideologies, forged their own path.

And they hadn't. They'd never been able to. Her siblings were frail, weak-willed children who scrambled after any order they received like sheep. In the end, Drew was the worst of them all. The weakest too, probably- those who were strong didn't have to climb up on the backs of others. Yet...

Drew's gaze found Jason's head, traced the strong line of his figure and tried to meet his lifeless eyes with no avail.

That was right. She was selfish, she was weak, she was cruel...

But to let good people die would be the worst thing she could do.

"Your time has run out, Tanaka Drew." Medea's voice slipped silkily into her head, drawing her thoughts to an abrupt stop.

She wouldn't just be a sheep. She'd be the predator that ate them up, tore them apart and revealed their guts and parts to the whole world. The moment that Drew had been handed the title of cabin counselor, she'd decided that.

She wouldn't be some dumb animal.

She'd be the wolf that hunted them.

"Leo Valdez?" Medea asked kindly. " _Kill the boy, Jason. Go for the jugular, and slice it clean. Make him suffer, child._ "

The sacrificial knife in Leo's hand gleamed wickedly at his side as he lurched forward, steps faltering as confusion filled his eyes before the charmspeak's power resumed. Jason stood before him, still and ready in that stance of a toy soldier; his throat bare above his collar, so pale it was almost white. A lamb waiting for the slaughter.

But Drew didn't focus on that. She focused on dredging up all the darkness flowing beneath her skin, the words she didn't say, the feelings she shoved beneath a cover of neutrality, always ready to burst through at the slightest provocation- ready to be used _now_.

 _" **Stop.** " _

Drew almost didn't believe the power she heard resounding in her own ears.

Leo halted so suddenly he almost pitched forward, any expression on his face wiping away completely until he looked like nothing more than a doll, something she could play with and manipulate at her own behest. Drew ignored the disgust that followed the thought as she gave her next order. " ** _Drop the knife_** ** _._** _"_

Unfailing to meet her expectations, he did. Drew was immediate- she dove for it, catching it in a roll as she then sprang up to where Medea had stood at the edge of it all as if just a casual observer to a play. She all but shoved the knife against Medea's throat, forcing her to tilt her chin upwards. A droplet of blood- red instead of the gold of ichor trailed down from where the knife point met skin, contrasting against the unnatural whiteness of its complexion.

"One wrong move," Drew said, dropping the charmspeak, "And I slit your throat. I will be the one to show you just _exactly_ -" she grabbed Medea's hair with her free hand, yanking it further from its already tilted position, "How your children died. _Capiche_?" She'd always preferred plain old threats to charmspeak- at least you actually got a reaction.

Except Drew didn't get the one she was hoping for. Medea raised one perfect eyebrow, before smiling. And not a fake one, either- the _genuity_ of it sprouted goosebumps all over Drew's skin, caused a shiver to go up her spine.

" _Bravo,_ daughter of Aphrodite. Bravo." The next thing she knew, Drew was flying through the air. Her back slammed into the round plate of a shield. She fell to the floor, blood splattering from her mouth on to the shimmering tiles.

Medea sauntered over to her, the sound of her clapping the only noise that filled the loud silence besides Drew's small, hacking coughs.

"Your charmspeak was strong enough to overcome _mine_ ," Medea said, drawing to a stop in front of Drew's crumpled form. "I'm impressed, Drew."

Drew. Like they were suddenly buddies now. Drew's cough turned into a weak, disparaging laugh. " _Really?_ I don't need your compliments, miss."

Medea was not deterred from whatever weird sense of satisfaction it was that filled her. "So many outcomes, and that was the one." She cupped her chin in her palm, eyes flicking to Drew. "Well, it was certainly the best possibility."

By best, Drew figured she meant most _amusing_. She raised herself to her knees, allowing one last cough to fall from her mouth.

Drew lifted her head and grinned darkly, revealing the blood on her teeth, her black hair falling into her eyes jaggedly. "Well? Did I _pass_?"

Drew wasn't expecting the red nail that trailed down her cheek, until it was under her chin, forcing her head up sharply.

"Yes, Drew, my little charmspeaker," Medea purred. Her dark brown eyes were deep, dark- endless, as her voice lowered to a whisper. "You have passed my test."

Drew was too shocked to move. Medea smiled and waved her fingers, pulling something from thin air; a vial of glowing pink liquid that she placed gently in the hand that laid uncurled on the floor. Drew's fingers closed around the unexpectedly cool glass.

"My prize to you, daughter of Aphrodite," Medea said, rising to her feet. Her eyes glittered. "A memory potion; you can use it to restore the memories of that boy, The time to kill you has not come yet. But one day, it will. You will grow into a worthy enemy, Tanaka Drew. And I will eagerly await..." She drew a finger across her throat, wiping away the blood and licking it away with her tongue. "The moment I plunge a knife into your throat."

 **xXx**

The memory still made her shudder. Drew shook her head, pulling herself out of it. "Medea gave this to me," she said bitterly. "As a _prize_ for beating her at her own game. She said it would give you your memories back, but... it's up to you, Jason."

He stared down at the salvation she offered in her palm, blue eyes a hurricane of emotions that she couldn't discern.

"Can we even trust that?" Leo asked, expression full of suspicion.

Drew shared his thoughts. She shrugged. "I don't know- jury's out on that one. But you have the final verdict, Jason."

Jason's eyes darkened, growing even more stormy. Silence lay over them as gently as the falling snow. Finally, he closed his eyes, turning away. "I can't," he whispered. "I can't take it."

Drew didn't ask for his reasons. She nodded. "Okay." She tucked it back into her jacket, safe in the tiny pocket enclosed there.

Leo blinked. His face clearly said, _That's it?_ But he didn't say anything, getting to his feet and stretching. "Well, Festus is ready. I'd say it's about time that we take off, yeah?"

Drew was surprised at the rush of relief she felt when she was seated on Festus. It'd only been a day but... a smile tugged at her lips. The dragon's presence was comforting. Beneath her, it huffed before it took off into the sky, and the trees grew into dots below them, before fading away under the blanket of clouds completely.

"I can see the vapor trails," Jason said. All Drew saw was empty air, except for the occasional cloud- she made a derogatory noise, not having to look up to know that Jason was rolling his eyes. "Head west, Leo."

Drew let out a sigh, the tension that had lingered in her shoulders for hours finally relaxing. She leaned back, drinking in the starry sky with greedy eyes. She was too tired to identify the constellations, but that didn't stop Drew from smiling. Some things stayed the same.

Leo rolled his neck, cricking out the aches. "Well... while we have the time, anything else y'all want to chit-chat about?"

Drew's smile faded. Was there? No, nothing of relevance...

"I have a sister," Jason said suddenly.

"Um."

But this didn't surprise Drew, who nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'd forgotten," she said. Annabeth had probably told him about the daughter of Zeus. She wasn't sure of Jason's past, but if he'd come from some Roman version of Camp Half-Blood, it was doubtful he'd had any other siblings there, wasn't it? She could see why he seemed so jolted by the revelation. "Thalia Grace."

"It's... it's not just that," Jason said. "We're not half-siblings, we- we share the same mother and father."

For only a moment, Drew remained blank. Then, "Wait, _what_?"

"Yeah," Jason said, looking sheepish. "I... it's about the only thing I can remember." Drew frowned a little at that, remembering his flashback, but if he didn't want to tell... he didn't have to tell.

She shook her head, blinking. "Oh. Wow. So does that mean your last name is-"

"Grace? Yeah," Jason nodded.

Drew blinked again. "Wow," she repeated. Zeus had gone back twice, had he? The dog. But considering his reputation, maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised. Other gods did the same sometimes- the Stolls were a living example. That still didn't explain...

She shook her head. "If Thalia's Greek, then how could you be Roman?"

Jason shrugged, looking away. "Beats me," he said quietly, blond hair blowing over his eyes in the cold breeze that reached them through Festus's warm bubble.

Drew tried to do calculations of how far they'd been born apart, before giving up after a few seconds of mental math.

The sun rose on the horizon, a dark orange- Apollo's chariot, racing across the sky. Drew scratched at her wrist, fingers tracing the thin, sickly-looking veins in the fractured pattern that lead from her forearm to her hand, like the roots of a plant... her fingers squeezed her wrist, draining away the blood.

"Enceladus," Drew asked, almost to herself. "Who is that?"

So familiar, and yet...

Dammit. She should have paid more attention in the mythology classes at camp. A rather stark and repetitive tale of her life; Drew Tanaka had an alarming tendency of wasting her chances when they came.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jason said, echoing her words from a few hours before. He gave her a wan smile.

Drew glanced away from him, scowling. "That doesn't help."

"Some creepy monster?" Leo shrugged. "Does it matter?"

No. "Probably not," Drew admitted.

"See? Problem solved." Leo turned back to the open air in front of them. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Drew sighed. "That optimism will run out eventually, you know."

"Your cynicism is making you look and sound like an old woman, Drew," Leo said, keeping his back to her. Drew glared holes through the green fabric of his jacket.

"Anyways, if you want to rest, now's the time."

None of them did. The possibility of falling asleep was unlikely. The last couple of events had them all on edge; doubtful that the adrenaline would fade away anytime soon. Drew dreaded the moment that it did; crashing from a high spectacularly _sucked_.

The quiet that enveloped them after wasn't... unpleasant. Not the way it had been the first day. It was funny, how quickly endangerment forced you to drop your grudges and form bonds with the people you were stuck with. Drew wondered what it would have been like if she'd stayed at camp, Piper in her place. Would she have... talked to anyone like she had with Jason and Leo, _ever_?

...No. The Drew at camp was completely different from the Drew she was now, the girl who now had some of the weight of the world on her shoulders. A Drew not tasked with something greater was petty, cruel, unforgiving. In the present, she was...

What was she?

Had she been forced to drop the shitty aspects of her personality to survive this? Maybe. She hadn't _changed_. How ridiculous. Becoming a good person? There was no way, even if the way Jason and Leo looked at her was different. As soon as they succeeded, went back to camp, she'd probably... go back to the usual. No friends. No family. No one that liked her or cared about her. A person who was undeserving of it all.

It wasn't anything new. Nothing she hadn't thought about before, on this quest. But the realization made her... sad. There was no other word for it. That this was all temporary, and that it would end eventually. But right now...

It was a nice dream to live through.

Jason shot up in his seat, his previously slumped shoulders now straight. "The vapor trails... they're thicker, more recent," he breathed. "We're close."

Sure enough, a mountaintop began to reveal itself among the clouds. Snow-capped, and the area around it surrounded in blizzard... _Not natural_. It might have been winter, but considering that the mountain was the only area around them being bombarded by snow didn't exactly make it conspicuous. The location of Aeolus's lair, most likely.

"We're in Colorado," Leo murmured. "That mountain is probably..."

"Pike's Peak," Drew said, closing her eyes. She recognized it from memories of geography class, back in ninth grade. Her eyelids opened halfway as she exhaled tiredly. Another god to negotiate with- and probably with an unsuccessful result. They'd been lucky to reach an agreement the first time.

They lowered in altitude, swooping down towards the snowy mountain.

"The blizzard," Drew said. "There's no way Festus's protection will hold through that."

Leo's shoulders tensed. "I know," he said, in what sounded like a grimace. "...I can use my powers and-"

"Don't worry about it," Jason cut in. "I'll protect us. The weather is in my sphere of control, remember?"

Drew resisted the urge to look back at him and protest. _Taking one for the team._ As it was, it was obvious why- Leo was clearly uncomfortable with using his powers, not that Drew could blame him. Still, with the way that Jason had been straining his abilities the past few days...

She'd sworn to him that he could share the burden with her and Leo, yet- _Dammit, Drew._ If only she could charmspeak snow.

"I'll be fine," Jason said, as if sensing her worry and frustration. "This shouldn't be too taxing."

He held up a hand; a barrier of wind encircled them, keeping anything within a five yard radius from penetrating.

At the least... he didn't look tired.

"Okay," Leo murmured, "Aeolus's lair or whatever is...?"

"It's above the peak."

Drew and Leo both turned around to look at Jason, who's face had turned white. "What?"

"Aeolia." Jason snapped. "It's above the top of the mountain."

Drew and Leo exchanged looks. "Jason," Leo started slowly, "Are you sure-"

" _It's there._ I know it is. I know, I know, I..."

"Okay, it's there," Leo said. He pulled on Festus's reins, raising their altitude again.

Drew didn't like the look on Jason's face- it was out of character for him to snap, too. But given that he was the one who could see the vapor trails...

She wasn't shocked when he turned out to be right. They hovered above the top of the mountain, looking at the floating island below that was barely visible through a rapidly falling sheet of snow. It was as wide as a football stadium, structured out of glowing purple material with jagged cliffs on the side that were filled with holes and caves. In the center of what looked to be four gardens (and in full bloom?) was a castle surrounded by walls.

"Aeolia...?" Drew repeated. "Jason, have you... been here before?"

The wind and snow whistled in his silence. "I... I think so."

They descended towards the castle, snow parting from the ground as Festus's wings sliced through the furious wind. Drew slid off the dragon, her knees bending as she landed and feet cushioned by the snow in what would otherwise have sent a jolt of impact through her legs anywhere else. She rose to her full height with a puff of white air, looking behind them; a long, towering bridge of ice stretched from the island of Aeolia all the way to Pikes Peak, swaying unsteadily in the face of the snow storm. Thank the gods they hadn't had to cross _that_.

Jason had already walked to the door with his back to them- unusually still, his hand fisted in the pocket that held his coin. Drew half-expected him to raise his hand to knock, but he did nothing.

Next to her, Leo was staring at the bridge, a crease between his brows. His mouth parted, and he turned to her in a sudden movement that made Drew startle backwards. "Drew, I think I know why-"

The sound of the door to the castle opening with a loud, ominous creak startled the _both_ of them. White light spilled across the snowy earth, its crystals shimmering in the glow. It formed a halo around Jason's head, making his already sharp features look angelic. He stepped into the castle without a word to Drew or Leo.

"Dammit, Jason-!" Drew stormed after him, grabbing the sleeve of Leo's jacket and pulling him along with her, ignoring his stumbling.

Her eyes squinted into a grimace as she stepped through the large golden doors. When they closed behind her with a sound that felt final, Drew's lids cracked open. She blinked.

She hadn't known what she'd expected. Something... Olympus-esque? Whatever she'd imagined, it hadn't been this.

The castle was so... modern.

The walls were a smooth white marble flecked with gray, adorned with the occasional painting... Renaissance-era, gods and goddesses in their naked beauty. Gray and white sculptures that reminded Drew of the museum back in New York...

Another wave of homesickness hit her that she promptly ignored. When she looked up, she saw that the ceiling was pure celestial bronze- no mortal metals. When she looked down...

She saw the sky.

Drew blinked, for a moment thinking she was standing over open air before she realized that the images changed; from a cloudy blue sky to a gray, rainy night, and then a purple-orange sunset. It was beautiful. Drew wondered whether it was magic, or just modern technology- after all, people could do that now, couldn't they? The magic of immortals wasn't as powerful as they liked to believe, compared to the advances of the technological age.

She was going off on a tangent. "Jason-" Drew called, before realizing he was standing right in front of them.

His eyes were glassy, fragile. "I think- no, I remember this place," he said. "It's changed a little, but not much. Any second now, someone should come to-"

"Hi! How may I help you?" The voice was perky, feminine, and almost knocked Drew right out of her socks in shock.

She swallowed down the scream that had threatened to rise, her voice cracking when she spoke as she turned around. "Hello...?" Beside her, Leo's cheeks had flushed a light pink.

The woman (attendant?) had dark air that flowed slowly in the air, as if it was constantly being blown by a breeze that, as far as Drew could tell, was non-existent. She wore a white dress and had dark brown eyes that reminded Drew of Khione. If it hadn't been for the woman's pointed ears and partly transparent appearance, she could have passed for human.

She unlocked the white iPad held in her hands, eyes scanning the glowing screen. "Have you scheduled an appointment with Aeolus?"

The three of them glanced at each other. "...Well, no," Drew began slowly, "But we do have-"

The spirit held up a hand. "Wait. Would you happen to be a Drew Tanaka, Leo Valdez and Jason Grace?"

"Um... yeah."

The woman flashed a bright white grin. "Then you are scheduled! Come right this way, please!"

They followed, completely bemused. "I didn't schedule an appointment," Leo whispered. He glanced between Jason and Drew, eyes wide. "Did _you_ guys schedule an appointment?"

Drew stared at him. "Do you _really_ think we would?"

"...You guys are the in-the-moment type," Leo muttered. "If it wasn't us, then who did?"

"Good question," Drew grumbled. She raised her voice. "Um, excuse me?"

The spirit, who'd been entirely focused on her device as she lead them through the palace's glistening halls, stopped and turned to them. "Yes?"

"Do you happen to know who called in for us?"

"Hmm?" the woman asked, distracted, and then blinked. "Oh. Yes, that would have been Hera?"

 _Figures_. _She would know where we would be going._ "Thank you."

The spirit took another ghostly step, then paused. Her eyes lit up, flashing an unnatural glowing blue. "Oh, how rude of me! I'm Mellie, by the way. Aeolus's personal assistant."

Leo flashed what was probably supposed to be a charming grin. "Nice to meet you, Mellie," he said as he bowed exaggeratedly, like some kind of chivalrous gentleman.

Drew resisted the urge to kick him in the shins as her mouth twitched. **_So_** _not the time, Leo..._ Maybe a tad hypocritical, since flirting at the wrong time and place tended to be a rather prevalent habit of hers. She still remembered talking to Jason after that campfire, which seemed so long ago...

"Excuse me, miss," Jason said. His voice sounded tinny, as if he was speaking through a phone. Drew didn't like his complexion- a sickly white, almost translucent, he was close to looking like Mellie. With a start, Drew realized that this was the first time he'd spoken since they'd walked through those doors.

"Have... I been here before? Do you recognize me?"

Mellie's face grew apologetic. "Sorry, I wouldn't know. I've only been here for..." She peered at the time displayed on the iPad. "Six hours."

Leo's eyebrows shot up. " _Six_?"

Mellie shrugged. "It's not the easiest job to hold," she said, then drew to a stop. They now stood in something that resembled a lobby; a desk with another spirit like Mellie behind it, typing away at a bronze computer and a Bluetooth hooked behind her ear. There was chairs and couches splayed around the ornate room, all made of leather and ranging from cream-coloured to black. A TV hung from the ceiling, one of those brand-new widescreens, set on a news channel- Drew recognized it as the one broadcasted up in Olympus.

"Sorry," Mellie said. "You'll have to wait here. Through there-" she pointed to the transparent set of doors at the end of the lobby, "-is strictly off-limits to mortals." Drew could see why. She was able to glimpse what looked like auraes- _wind spirits_ , breezing around. Not to mention that the floor seemed to be constantly collapsing...

"Aeolus will be with you soon," Mellie said, and then proceeded to disperse into wind and whirl through the doors herself.

Drew sat down on one of the leather couches heavily, air whooshing out of her in a sigh. She kicked her feet up on to the arm of the couch, leaning her head back against the plushy material beneath her. "Waiting... I love waiting."

"I do _not_ love waiting," Leo grumbled back as he settled into a beige chair, already fiddling with wire and rubber bands from his jackets.

Drew's arms and back ached as she stretched like a cat, rolling over on to her stomach. She looked through half-lidded eyes as Jason sat on the floor at the foot of the couch, pulling his knees to his chest. "How much do you remember this place?"

Jason glanced at her, hair partly hiding his eyes from view. "I don't remember why I came," he said. His voice grew quiet. "But I remember being here. With... others. I was younger. I don't remember their names."

"It'll come back."

"What?"

"Your memories. They'll come back." Drew smiled, so small it was almost non-existent. "You remembered Thalia, didn't you? Stop worrying."

Jason's face softened. "I'm not worrying," he murmured, looking away.

She nudged his head with her sneaker. "You totally are."

Jason rubbed the point of contact, scowling at her. "Are not."

"Are too."

"Are _not_."

"Are _too_."

"You guys sound like a bunch of five-year olds," Leo snorted, lifting up his dirty shoes underneath him as he relaxed.

They really did, didn't they?

Drew blinked, staring at the TV, but not really seeing. She didn't remember the last time she had sounded like this in the last few years. Been so carefree, so teasing, even with Death hovering over their heads. They were... friends, weren't they?

Drew didn't know what to do with that. So she tucked it away, like a kid locking a precious memoir into a chest.

The image on the screen changed- Drew could faintly make out the words, _THE OW! CHANNEL,_ flashing in gray with a blue backdrop. A man's face appeared as he beamed at the camera. Salt-and-pepper hair, with blue eyes that reminded Drew of Jason's, he was handsome, despite his seeming middle-age. He wore a white suit, clouds moving along the silver tie in a never-ending drift. Instantly, Drew knew that the man was Aeolus.

"He _llo_ , Olympus! And a good morning to you!" He sounded like an announcer at a baseball game, right before the pitcher threw the first ball. Now, it all came back to Drew. She'd never really paid attention to the television at camp like all the other kids, kids who had lost all the technology they were familiar with and were grasping at anything close to it, but this was vaguely familiar. The OW! Channel- the Olympian Weather Channel. Really, it made sense.

A map came to life behind Aeolus, displaying a map of the States. It zoomed in on New York, with the typical measurements of fahrenheit and pixels of clouds, rain or snow symbolizing the actual weather. It could have been a normal mortal newscast. "For those of you up in Mount Olympus, expect a cloudy day with no chance of snow or rain! And don't forget to put on your jackets and hats, with a whopping -20 degrees! Brrr!" He shook to demonstrate the point. Drew rolled her eyes- couldn't the gods just moderate the temperatures anyways? "Oh, hold that thought-" Aeolus tapped his earpiece, and beamed. "You can look forward to a beautiful day instead! Enjoy that sunshine, folks, courtesy of Lord Apollo!"

It continued on like that. Drew couldn't help getting dizzy watching the lord of the winds onscreen, as he flitted around, changing his reports and the weather itself to oblige the gods' demands. Of course, this wasn't anything new- the minor gods served the Olympians, after all. Still, it made Drew feel...

 _You're one to talk._

Darkness swept over her thoughts. That was right. She wasn't.

Drew was relieved when it ended, and the screen faded to black. She lowered her gaze, eyes dry as she blinked.

"That was... interesting," Leo said, staring down at what looked like a half-finished toy made of wires and strips of metal resting limply in his lap.

Drew scoffed. "You weren't even paying attention, were you?"

"He left me after 'Mount Olympus'. And... is this really the guy we should be seeing? He doesn't seem..." Leo lifted his hand to his head, stopping before he could finish the motion. "Right."

"Not surprising." Drew sat up, crossing her legs underneath her. "Some of the minor gods that serve Olympus... they can..." She grimaced. " _Lose_ it after a while."

A while? More like a couple of millennia. It wasn't especially noticeable, but despite his cheery tone there was nothing in Aeolus's eyes; listen closer, and his voice had a distinctly fake ring to it. The gods seemed to forever be acting in some sort of twisted play- a tragedy almost always. Whether for them, or the victims involved...

Anyone would go crazy in that position. Anyone _mortal_ , anyways. Drew wasn't sure what it was that kept the gods from going insane.

Her train of thought stopped when the double doors burst open. Aeolus came through, tapping on his earpiece while Mellie followed in his wake, looking frazzled as she clutched her iPad in her wraith-like arms.

Aeolus turned to them. In the first second that his eyes fell on them, Drew felt a shudder sliver through her spine. His face was dark, an empty void, except for a small glint of life in his eyes- a glint that spoke of hatred. And then the look disappeared as quickly as it had came, replaced by a bright beam with white teeth and sparkling eyes. "Demigods!" Aeolus greeted, halting to a stop in front of them like a gust of wind fading into nothing. "What brings you to the island of Aeolia?"

With a jolt, Drew realized their laidback positions came off as rude and disrespectful. Hell, another god might have blasted them all the way down to Hades by now. She jumped to her feet, bowing. "Lord Aeolus," Drew said, the words whooshing out of her in one breath. "We-We've come to request something of you."

The smile slid off of Aeolus's face. "Request."

Inwardly, she grimaced. _Not_ a good sign. They hadn't even reached negotiations, much less what the favour _was._ "Yes. The world- it's in grave danger."

Aeolus cocked an eyebrow. "The _world_?"

Drew couldn't help wondering if he was mocking her. She nodded, and Aeolus scratched his chin. "Huh," he said, pausing, as if turning it over in his head. The smile crept back to his lips as he turned to his assistant. "You'd think I would know if the world was 'endangered'as these demigods claim, wouldn't you, Mellie?"

Mellie shrugged her thin, frail-looking shoulders, shaking her head. "I-I don't know, Lord Aeolus."

"Hmm." Aeolus glanced back to them. "Well, little half-bloods, perhaps you wouldn't mind a little elaboration?"

Drew explained their story, summing it up as concisely as she could manage. By the end of it, Aeolus's eyes had turned thoughtful. "That's an interesting tale."

Drew swallowed, wishing she had some water to moisten the dryness in her throat. "Yes. So you see, we really need your help, Lord Aeolus-"

The lord of the winds held up a hand. "One moment." He tapped his earpiece, listening to something- a wisp of hope curled in Drew's chest. The Olympians, perhaps. Would her mother- would she-?

The corner of Aeolus's mouth twitched in what Drew was certain was irritation. "It seems your parents are in agreement. How rare." His eyes bored into them as his hand pressed a button on his Bluetooth- turning it off, Drew thought. Whatever he said next wasn't something that he wanted their parents to hear. It didn't stop the warmth that had closed a hand around Drew's heart, not the sudden weight lifted off her shoulders. Her mother had asked a god to help. For her. "Unfortunately for you, I don't take favours for free."

The heat around Drew's heart turned to ice, the soft hand hardening to a stone fist. "But, Lord Aeolus-" she gasped.

He shrugged, sighing and holding his hands up in a _What can you do?_ manner. "Sorry, kiddo, but you'd think that you'd know your deities before coming to me."

 _Dammit_. The original plan had to been to bring some storm spirits to get into the god's good graces, but that plan might as well have failed as soon as they'd entered Medea's department store. Hades, Drew had completely _forgotten_ about that plan after they'd escaped. Now, they had nothing.

Jason held up his hands pleadingly. "Lord Aeolus, surely we can-"

His eyes flashed in a whirlwind of emotion. "I won't hear it from _you_ , son of Jupiter. I remember the faces of those whose wishes I have granted before."

Jason wouldn't accept the message clear in Aeolus's words. "Then you've helped me once, right? Why not again? Please, Lord Aeolus, if Hera goes-"

Aeolus's gaze held no goodwill. "You, who came for a way to defeat the Trojan monster..." For a second, Jason's face changed- a person who Drew didn't recognize stood in his place. And then Jason shook his head. "What-"

"When I accept favours, I expect a favour in turn." Aeolus spread out his hands. "Equivalent exchange, I suppose you could say. Ever since Odysseus, and even Typhon... well, I don't have a lot of mercy left." He tilted his head. "In exchange for the death of the monster, I requested something of you. Do you remember?"

Jason's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Aeolus exhaled deeply. "I suppose you wouldn't. Anyways, what I asked you... Zephryus, his wherabouts. I wonder if you ever..."

His eyes scanned Jason's face. For a long, heavy moment, silence reigned. And Aeolus looked away, expression shuttered. It seemed that whatever he'd been searching for, he hadn't found it. The god sighed. "A request as simple as that-" _Simple?!_ Drew's mind raged. _As if finding one of the **winds** is **simple** \- _"And yet..." Aeolus turned his back to them, tapping his earpiece. "Mellie, please _escort_ these _guests_ from the premises. This meeting is over."

* * *

 **Ending note:**

A relatively peaceful chapter, eh? For once.

In other news, God have mercy on my poor writer's soul. Again, guys, I'm sorry for taking so long :((((((

Leave a review please!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** I've yet to edit this chapter. If there are any mistakes, I apologize beforehand. /slumps, hobbles away

* * *

 **{10.}**

"W-Wait!" Drew yelled at Aeolus's retreating back. "Our parents told you to tell us where Hera is, didn't they?! So where is she!"

Drew couldn't believe her ears, nor her mouth; how could she be so bald-faced, towards a _god_? But Aeolus didn't seem to be insulted by her arrogance. His head turned slightly, acknowledging her with the barest of tilts. "The son of Jupiter knows where she is," he said finally. "Though he does not realize it yet." A pause, and then, "Mellie."

"Y-Yes, sir."

They got a lot more than "escorted".

Mellie bowed her head, apologetic. "I apologize for this," she murmured. She snapped her fingers, and the winds came.

Jason grabbed Drew's wrist and Leo's bicep, pulling them close to him. "Don't let go-!" he snapped, only to be interrupted by the onslaught that rushed them.

Drew didn't know which way was up, and which way was down. All she knew was the clench of Jason's hand, cold and tight as they were spun around, sharp air whistling around them and blowing them away, as furious and as dizzying as a tornado.

The next thing she knew, they hit something- or more like _Jason_ hit something, taking the blow, the vibration of impact dully ring through Drew and Leo as well- and then there was icy fire as they rolled, burning against Drew's cheeks and hands and head as they rolled, over ridges of ice and hard humps of snow-

They came to a stop, lying in a heap. For a few seconds, Drew lay there, breathless- _literally_ unable to breathe. It reminded her of the panic attacks she used to have, sharp inhales with no air left to compensate for her body's desperate grasping of oxygen...

And then she was breathing once more, her chest heaving as she coughed. She got to her knees, hands and wrists still inches-deep in snow, but she ignored the bite of frost as she checked over the other two. "Are you okay?!" she gasped, licking flakes of white and something that tasted like blood from her lips and the skin around her mouth.

Leo sat up, dazed. "Fine," he said distantly, "I'm fine..."

Jason didn't respond. Quickly, Drew realized why.

"Jason?" she said softly, and then louder, "Jason!" She crawled over to him, fingers scrabbling over his ruined jacket as she reached for his neck, checking for a pulse.

For a moment, she felt nothing- and then the thrumming of a heartbeat under her index and middle finger. She pulled away and sat back on her haunches, sighing. "He's alive," she muttered, and smiled at Leo tiredly. "He'll be fine. I think."

She didn't look at him long enough to see his expression at her words, turning back to look at the castle of Aeolia instead; the doors were still open, wind and snow rushing through to the palace's gleaming interior. To say they'd been kicked out would be like saying demigods were only a _little_ special...

Drew blamed her depth of thought as the reason why she didn't notice Festus creep up on them. The first thing she felt was a hot snort of steam, cooled down by the below-freezing temperatures- she barely restrained a scream, and only managed the beginnings of a glare as she whipped around to the dragon, still shaken.

Leo, on the other hand, welcomed the dragon with a delighted laugh and open arms. Literally. "Festus!" he yelled happily, running up to the dragon to hug it- (Her? He? Suddenly, it was becoming weird to think of Festus as nothing more than a hunk of metal)- around the snout. "I missed you, buddy."

 _It's only been an hour at most_ , Drew thought grumpily, but she didn't voice it. She stared down at Jason; his lips were turning blue, his eyelashes fluttering as he breathed shakily, as if pained. Drew felt a pang of alarm. She thought he'd been knocked out cold, but clearly unconsciousness was wearing off fast. Not to mention that it would be a bad idea to leave him lying in the snow like this. That was just asking for it.

"Drew...?" Jason muttered, eyes opening blearily.

"Yeah. It's me, gorgeous." She raised herself to a kneel, snaking her arm around his shoulder as she helped him into a sitting position, trying not to wince herself at the sharp inhale of breath he took. How injured was he? "Hate to burst your bubble, but you can't sleep here forever."

Jason laughed a little at that, then grimaced. It wasn't even a funny comment- he must have really been in pain.

She hesitated, then said, "Come on."

Drew wrapped her arm around his waist, attempting to pull him to his feet- she realized it was a mistake as soon as she did it.

A gasp escaped Jason, too quiet to be a scream, as he pushed away from her, collapsing back into the snow.

"Jason?! Shit!" She fell to her knees beside him, his eyes closed again as he panted. "Fuck. Shit. Fuck."

She practically ripped open his windbreaker, feeling around for a wound or the warm wet of blood that she must have missed- leave him exposed to the cold too long, and he could get pneumonia or hypothermia or frostbite, but that was _not_ her most pressing concern. Damn him for always taking the blow.

What had triggered so much pain- right, when she'd squeezed his side...

Carefully, Drew lowered her hand there, trying to be as gentle as possible. Considering the crack she'd also heard when they had slammed into the doors, she now had a faint suspicion of just what his injury was.

Lightly, she pressed into his ribcage. It was enough to startle Jason's eyes open as he curled away from her. Bingo.

She couldn't help the tendril of guilt that writhed inside of her from hurting him. But Drew ignored it, zipping up his jacket and letting him fall back to a bed of soft snow, before standing up with a deep exhale, trying not to look at him. "Houston, we have a problem."

"Christ." Leo shambled up to her, his eyes flicking down to Jason. "Is he okay?"

Drew smiled crookedly, her worry cracking through the grin, as weak as it was. "I think flyboy's got a case of broken ribs. Bruising for sure. Maybe internal bleeding. And we're out of ambrosia and nectar."

"Shit." Leo inhaled sharply through his teeth. "That's bad. That's really, really bad."

"No kidding." Drew crossed her arms, the gusts of icy wind nothing more than a pushed back annoyance, for now. "Look, can you get Festus to... lift him up without hurting him, or something? We need to find shelter."

"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that." Leo gestured Festus over.

Drew closed her eyes as she watched Leo command Festus's movements. Jason was lucky not to have ended up with a punctured lung, or worse... And how could they even treat him? With proper medical attention, for normal humans it took a month or two to heal- for demigods, to three days at most, with the help of ambrosia or nectar. But they didn't _have_ those resources. And their time constraints-

If they didn't find a solution, and fast, they were screwed.

A hatch unlocked from Festus's chest, releasing a Celestial Bronze arm that stretched out and carefully cradled Jason in its hand. When Drew blinked at Leo, he shrugged, a small smile on his lips despite his worried eyes. "Before we left camp, I messed around with a Festus a little bit. I know him pretty much inside and out now."

"Huh. Well." After a second of silence, Drew pulled her hood over her head. "We're gonna have to do this on foot," she said. The less disturbance Jason's body received, the better; looking at the stormy sky above them, the winds would be too turbulent. "Come on."

The first obstacle proved to be the ice bridge, hanging haphazardly over a chasm. Drew hadn't given it much thought when they'd arrived, but now that she was supposed to cross it... "Fuck."

"Hey, you!" she said, whirling around to face the dragon. "Fly Jason to other side, okay?" She pointed to the mountaintop at the other end of the bridge for good measure. "And do it gently!"

The dragon's wings stretched out, beating in the air for a few moments, before it gained enough power to lift off the ground and glide through the winds at a low altitude- at the cost of blowing snow into Drew's face.

She spat out a chunk, wiping it off her face. It was going numb- she definitely deserved her title of "icy bitch" that some campers gave her now. _Festus did that on purpose. He **so** did it on purpose._

"Alright." she said, once she could move her mouth again. "Just the two of us now. Let's go."

"Wait." Leo grabbed her arm, stopping her. He was staring at the bridge, but not really; his eyes seemed to be a million miles away. Drew could see the gears turning in his head, whatever he'd just realized coming to life in his eyes- remembering what he'd been thinking when they'd first stood here. "I think I know why Jason was sent to Camp Half-Blood."

"Leo, this isn't really the time-" Drew started, but Leo held up his hand, shaking his head.

"Just hear me out, okay?"

"What?" Drew said, exasperated, then she sighed. "Fine. Make it quick."

Leo's eyes lit up, and he flailed his hands excitedly, despite the cold that was most likely biting at his fingers. "Think of that bridge as a metaphor for Jason."

Drew raised her eyebrow. "I'm not following." And it would be preferable if they treated Jason before he froze to death...

"He's Roman. So let's say, there's probably a Roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood, or something of the like for Roman demigods, right? I mean, that body we saw- it had to get the armour from somewhere."

Drew nodded, still somewhat lost, and Leo rambled on. "Hera's the one who switched Jason and Percy. If Jason went to Camp Half-Blood, then it's not too far off to say that Percy was sent to the Romans' safe haven, is it?"

"Yes, but I don't-"

"Jason and Percy _are_ the bridge," Leo said, cutting her off. "Meant to bridge the gap between Greeks and Romans. Something happened to split them apart, but I'm guessing Hera is using Jason and Percy to bridge the gap."

The more she thought about it, the less far-fetched it seemed. "Huh. You _are_ pretty smart."

For a second, she thought she saw his cheeks flush, the slightest bit- but then he turned around, and Drew wasn't sure of what she saw. "We gotta get a move on."

They made their way carefully across the bridge of ice. At one point, Leo slipped, almost tumbling over the side, and Drew had to grab him around the midsection to keep him from falling into the chasm.

"Thanks," Leo breathed, shaky as she steadied him.

Drew peered over his shoulder, into the black depths of the chasm. "Don't mention it. Really."

Soon, they'd made their way across the bridge to the other side. Then they were knee-deep in snow, wading somewhere. Anywhere. Up here, although it was morning and the sky was a light blue, the blizzard obscured pretty much everything. Any skin that Drew had left uncovered was unfeeling, even her covered parts burning. She'd become too numb to shiver. When she tried to move her mouth, it took a couple of tries. "We can't last like this. Our clothes- we need shelter."

"There's gotta be a cave, shelter somewhere!" Leo shouted back at her over the winds. "Come on, just a little further-"

A little further turned into time Drew couldn't keep track of. She wasn't sure if it was morning or afternoon, 9 am or even 5 pm- there was only winter, unmerciful and dizzying. Everything was white- Drew was sick of it. At the moment, she'd be perfectly fine with never seeing snow again.

Leo let out a victorious yell, pumping his fist in the air. Drew glanced at him sharply, startled, and he grinned back at her. "There's a cavern up ahead," he said.

Drew stared at where he was pointing, and blinked. All she saw was white and blue. "I really... don't see anything, Leo."

His features drooped with exasperation. "Come on, _look_."

She rolled her eyes, but did as he said. The truth was that Drew's eyesight wasn't good- never had been. One of the things she inherited from her father, her vision wasn't quite 20/20. Honestly, she probably should have been wearing glasses. But she squinted, looking through everything until she saw black; the entrance to a cave, like Leod said.

Drew restrained the grin threatening to pull her lips wide. "Shit, I see it."

Of course, that was when everything had to go to hell.

A howl split the air, piercing and loud. More howls followed, from all directions; Drew jumped, and whirled around, looking for the source. It was impossible. The blizzard obscured everything, making it impossible to tell north and south and east from west.

It didn't matter- she could still see the cave, and though it seemed miles away-

"Leo, run!"

They ran.

It was so futile. Running through the snow was like running through quicksand. It seeped through her clothes, dragged her feet down every time she took a step and tried to pull her down into its white depths, but Drew kept going, no matter how much her chest rattled and hurt whenever she took a breath.

She could hear snarls, now, and guttural breathing- the wolves, monsters or mortal, were gaining fast. Somewhere between the wild adrenaline and fear, Drew managed to think: _I fucking hate wolves._ The thought did her no good, as most of her thoughts did.

Before she could think anything else that was completely useless, a force slammed into Drew's back, knocking her down and giving her a mouthful of snow and her own blood- she'd almost bit her tongue off.

She flailed and kicked, but couldn't get the wolf off of her. Unnatural, golden eyes stared into hers. The wolf opened its mouth, its drool dribbling down onto her face as it growled.

Drew slammed her fist into the side of its head, and the wolf pitched to the side with a whine. She stumbled to her feet, limping away- her ankle, she must have twisted it on the way down- and ignored the scorching pain in her back, from the cuts the wolf had seared into her back with its claws.

At the corner of her eye, Drew could see fire- Leo, fending off a pack of wolves that had gone for him. He could fend for himself. Drew couldn't. She opened her mouth, and tried to speak- and nothing came. It hurt too much to even breathe, much less talk. She couldn't think of anything else other than the unbearable pain. There were no words. Just her human instinct telling her to _escape_. Further ahead, Festus roared, letting out a golden stream of flames at the wolves trying to get to Jason.

They were cornered from all sides.

These wolves weren't like the human-wolf hybrids of the sewers back in Chicago. They had no humanity holding them back, no heart to stop them from killing a few stupid kids. These weren't creatures she could plead with, _beg_ with.

It was hopeless. All so, utterly hopeless.

The same wolf came for her again- this time, it didn't go for her back. It went for her left shoulder, fangs sinking in.

Drew screamed, and with an inhuman feat of strength that only half-bloods could have in the moments they needed them, threw the wolf off of her. Thank god it wasn't the size those kids had been- except for their eyes, these wolves could almost be mistaken for normal.

But it was impossible. None of them had any silver, the only thing that could kill lycanthropes. Even fire wouldn't work. Drew's foot collapsed from under her, and she fell, onto her haunches. When she looked up, there were three wolves loping towards her- predatory, a hunter going for its prey. A hunter that knew the hunted was on its last legs.

They were the things of nightmares. Every bad dream you had, every time you thought the bogeyman was hiding under your bed. And they were coming. For her.

Drew couldn't help the panic that overwhelmed her. "No," she sobbed. "No, no, no." She scrambled back, almost comical in her desperation. Blood flowed steadily from her shoulder and back, staining the layers of white with droplets of red. Tears froze almost instantly on her face.

This was impossible. This couldn't be happening.

They were on a quest. Sure, demigods died on quests, all the time, but that was- that was Before. Before Percy and Annabeth. Before they'd won the war. Nothing could touch them now, nothing- nothing was _supposed_ to touch them now, they were the new heroes, the legends of modern age-

And she could die. Drew was going to die.

It was funny, how hard that realization hit. When it came, it came.

Somewhere in the last few years, she'd forgotten just how easy it was for demigods to die. She'd assumed she'd never be one of them, not another statistic, another warning to children to make them scared, to give them caution. But she was. She'd never been different from the rest.

Her time had come.

Drew had always thought she'd be able to meet her death with neutrality, with acceptance.

All she felt was terror.

 _I don't want to die. Please. Don't let me die._ _Please._

She had no acceptance for this. None.

The wolf- the one she'd hurt- it was coming for her now. Despite their sheen, their colour, the eyes looked dead. Like it wasn't even alive. Except for a single, lone glint of hunger. Drew's mouth opened in a silent scream.

And then her saviour came in the form of an arrow, puncturing straight through the monster's heart.

 **-X-**

Wolves were becoming golden dust, all around her.

Silver arrows whizzed through the air, breaking the whispering wail of the storm. The lycanthropes fell, left and right.

As for Drew- Drew was frozen in place. She should have felt- something, but the fear, or the sudden disappearance of it left her empty.

She was shaking.

The cold faded away into nothing more than a loving hand trailing across her skin, but it should have hurt. Her wounds became just that- wounds, as Drew's mind escaped to somewhere far, far away. Warm. Warm, she wanted to be- she wanted to be- she couldn't-

"Hey."

They were all dead, now.

"Hey, girl. Get up, just-"

She was still shaking.

And then an arm was snaking around her waist, pulling her to her feet. "Don't be so cold, Naomi," the voice at her ear said, stern. Drew recognized it. Phoebe, she was- the healer, right, the healer.

For a moment, Drew came back to herself. "My- the people I was with," she said, "You have to help them, they could be- they could be hurt-"

"Your friends will be fine," Phoebe said, and Drew didn't hear the rest of the response, fading away once more, except for a distant, "Shit, she's going into shock-"

Drew wasn't sure how long it'd been when she came back to herself.

When she opened her eyes, she was resting against fluffy pillows, a blanket around her shoulders. Slowly, Drew came back to herself. With aching limbs and muscles, she sat up, still blinking, and tried to stand up. Her lips were cracked, her mouth parched, and- her shoulder burst into pain, her back following it, and she couldn't stop the yelp that leapt from her mouth.

Phoebe, who'd been sitting a few feet away staring at the opening of the tent, lost in thought, jerked- her eyes found Drew and widened, and then she was rushing over, pushing Drew back down and against the pillows gently, blabbering all the while. "You can't get up yet, it's too soon, your stitches-"

Drew held up a hand. "Stop." After a short pause, she croaked, "Please."

Phoebe blinked. Then she fell back on her haunches, smiling in apology and relaxing from her tense position. "Sorry. That was-" She rubbed the back of her neck. "Too much at once, huh."

Drew licked her lips. "Yeah." She shook her head, grimacing at the hurt in her body, a hurt that probably wouldn't go away for a while, and asked, "My companions, they're- they're okay, right?"

Phoebe reached out to pat her on her shoulder- the wrong one, and faltered, thinking better of it. Her smile turned reassuring. "Yeah, they're fine. We already treated their injuries. You got off the worst, I'm afraid."

"Oh," Drew said. It was meant to come off surprised, but it fell flat instead. She wasn't, not really.

"How long was I out?"

Phoebe got to her feet. "Only five hours. Don't worry, you still have a lot of time left. Your friends told me about your quest."

Drew opened her mouth, about to correct her, then exhaled softly instead. Wasn't worth the energy. She rubbed her hands together. As much as she was enjoying the tent, with the fire burning away in the middle, the soft pillows supporting her and a comfortable rest she hadn't received for what felt like forever- "When can I get back on my feet?"

"As soon as you have some nectar. I was waiting for you to wake up." Phoebe rummaged through her pack, before pulling out a canteen. As she pulled it out, she paused. "And a change of clothes. Sorry, your old ones..." She waved her hand, and Drew's gaze drifted to the direction it was flapping in. Her jacket and sweater lay in a pile, covered in blood that had dried till it looked almost black. A lost cause for sure.

"Eh. Not that big a deal."

"Oh, yeah." Phoebe blew out a breath between her lips. "Child of Aphrodite, right. You probably have lots of clothes at home."

Drew wanted to be annoyed, but she just shifted uncomfortably instead, looking down at her lap. "Yeah. I guess."

Phoebe walked over and crouched beside Drew, unscrewing the lid of the canteen. "Today was your lucky day, you know? Those wounds on your back and shoulder weren't deep enough to do major damage, but you bled enough to go into shock. If we hadn't been there-" she hesitated. "One of your companions was already out. The other doesn't know basic first aid. If we hadn't been there, even if you'd managed to get away from the wolves, you'd have probably..."

"Died." It sounded so crude, the way it came out of Drew's mouth.

"Yeah." Phoebe sighed. "Look, I'm just trying..." She ran a hand through her hair, annoyed. "Chiron shouldn't have let you guys go. Not in the state you're in. For something of this magnitude, you're not-"

"Enough." Drew's face twisted in a weak imitation of a smirk. "And he wouldn't have, but Hera seemed to think we were ready."

Phoebe didn't say anything, but it was clear in her eyes: _of course_. Again, she sighed. "Normally, there'd be more of us, but you know, with Percy going missing, well- we've kind of been chasing crumbs. Here." She handed the canteen into Drew's hands.

Resisting the urge to take a whiff of it, as it had been a habit of hers when she was younger, Drew took a sip. And she froze.

She knew what it was going to taste like, of course. This wasn't her first time having nectar. But it didn't happen often, and somehow the taste managed to shock Drew every time.

It was the hot chocolate her Dad used to boil on the stove, on cold winter days like this one- she could see it in her head. Her dad, standing at the stove, his back to her with a few wrinkles in his normally pressed white button-down. He'd be humming that stupid lullaby under his breath, _the song my parents used to sing to me, Drew_ and then he'd sit down on the couch with her in his lap while he regaled her with stories of his childhood or folktales, that small smile so bright on his unusually young, tired face-

Drew wasn't sure if it was just the homesickness, or the leftovers of the fear from early, the frustration that had building up these past few days, or just the deep feeling of grief and loss that she'd held at bay for so, so long and came rushing back with the memory- but she started to cry.

Phoebe took the canteen carefully from her trembling fingers. She didn't ask why Drew was crying- she seemed to understand as her face grew somber, and she said, "Hey. Hey, it'll be okay now," and wrapped an arm around Drew's shoulders.

After she was done, Drew let herself tremble one more time before she forcefully stilled her body. She let her hands fall from her face. Most likely, she looked like a total and complete mess, her cheeks flushed and her eyes swollen, tracks dried on her face. "Sorry," she murmured.

Phoebe smiled, but it seemed fractured, somehow. "It's okay. It happens."

Now that she'd had her little waterfall session, there was a headache growing behind Drew's eyes. The tears had dehydrated her, the sobs had made her wounds ache, and she reached for the canteen. "Um, can I..."

"Yeah, you probably should."

Drew downed the rest of it without any more blues, thank the gods. "Whoo," she said, after she set it down. "I think I could do a couple of rounds with a bull."

Phoebe snorted. "Don't get ahead of yourself, now." She unwrapped Drew's bandages. "Well, there's no chance of infection. You still need the stitches, but you shouldn't require them for more than a week."

"Hey, as long as it's not bad news, it's music to my ears." She stood up, this time without the dramatics. Still a little achy, but she'd deal.

Drew changed into the gray parka and camo pants of the Hunters, as well as their boots. Though she was loathe to admit it, the clothes she'd been wearing before hadn't exactly been suitable. These, on the other hand, were warm and comfy, regardless of their ugliness.

Phoebe helped Drew restock her pack. They couldn't carry much, and the small group of Hunters didn't have a lot to share, but they made it work.

Phoebe sized Drew up. "Suits you," she said. "Well, your friends are waiting."

Drew tried not to be too disappointed as they stepped out of the tent into the cold weather of Pikes Peak. Phoebe lead her to the cave they'd seen before. "The winds dispersed the dust left by the lycanthropes," she said. "Only damn good thing about this storm."

Inside, a fire coloured the cavern walls gold. Somehow, Festus had managed to fit inside, and was curled up, softly snorting gray plumes of gas. Leo sat at its chest, knees curled up to his chest and staring dully at the hearth. When he saw Drew standing at the foot of the cave, his eyes lit up. "You're okay!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and running to her. Drew wasn't prepared when he flung his arms around her neck, stumbling a few steps back, but she managed to stay on her feet somehow.

He clung to her, the top of his head coming up to her chin as he settled back on his heels. Uncomfortable, she patted his curls. "Yeah, shorty," she mumbled. "I'm okay. Really. You can let go now."

Leo stepped back, but was still breathless as his eyes looked her up and down. "You gave us a real scare back there," he said, "When you, like, passed out and all. Thank you," he said, looking at Phoebe. "If you weren't there-"

"Ah, don't worry about it," the archer said.

Leo shot her a grateful grin, then looked back over his shoulder. "Jason! Drew's awake!"

Drew thought it was rather unnecessary, considering that Jason had been staring at them the whole time. But he smiled at Drew, a smile that said _I'm glad you're okay._ Drew felt even more embarrassed.

"Alright, enough fussing," Drew grumbled. But she couldn't stop thinking about how close she really had been to death, and her resulting freakout. Phoebe was right. They weren't ready for the quest in the slightest. They hadn't even had a full day's of preparation, and it hadn't shown more than it had now.

They walked over to where Jason and two other Hunters had been talking. "Is there- any way I can talk to her?" Jason was saying. He didn't sound like himself. He sounded- small.

With a pang, Drew realized, _Thalia_. Of course, talking to the Hunters of Artemis, he'd be asking about Thalia.

"I'm sorry," one of them said. Drew didn't recognize her. She must have been a recent addition to the hunt. "She's on... an errand. It's dangerous for her to contact anyone right now."

Drew almost expected Jason to bristle, not the "ok" that came out of his mouth, as his face smoothed out from pleading into a blank look. The way he said it, it was like he'd only be minorly inconvenienced, not denied the chance to talk to a sister he hadn't seen for who knows how long.

"That... that's not the most important thing right now. I shouldn't have asked." Jason said slowly. Drew wondered how he even managed to get the words out. Momentarily, his eyes looked pained, before he regained control of himself. "Do you have any information about Hera's whereabouts?"

The huntress who'd been talking earlier responded. "Oh. That?" Her dark forehead wrinkled into a frown, her black curls falling into her eyes as she tilted her head forwards, her lips twisted sourly. "Yeah, sorry. We have no idea where she could be."

Jason frowned. "You already knew?"

The huntress shrugged. "News travels fast in this community. You'd be surprised. And, well, Hera is the Queen of the Olympians. It'd kind of be impossible not to know." She sighed. "If Artemis had still been here, most likely we'd be the first ones sent to track her down. But all the gods are freezing us out, and, well..." Again, she shrugged.

"Actually, that's the thing," Jason said. "I think I might know where Hera is."

The huntress's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Well, well." Drew felt more confused than ever. Besides her, Leo didn't look much far off.

"Sorry," Drew said, stepping forward and staring blankly at Jason. "Have we... missed something?"

Jason scratched the back of his neck. "I was waiting for you to wake up," he said. "Listen-"

He was interrupted as an Iris Message fizzed to life in the musty cavern air.

The quality wasn't as good as it usually was- a little fuzzy at the edges, but that didn't make the face staring back at them any less recognizable. Thalia Grace's blue eyes were wide, a cut on her forehead bleeding red down the side of her face, streaked with dirt and golden dust, her hair gray with what might have been ash.

"Camilla?" She said, speaking to the dark-skinned huntress, and then glancing to the brunette, "Alexandra. I have a situation on my hands and I need-"

Her gaze drifted over to Jason, and she froze. Confusion twisted her features, but there was a twinge in her eyes- of recognition, but distant, like she was seeing a stranger she'd known a long time ago. Which wasn't far from the truth. "Who's this?"

Camilla and Alexandra glanced at each other. "Um, Thalia," Camilla began awkwardly, because Jason seemed too stunned to speak himself.

"Forget it," Thalia said. "Look, I need backup. ASAP. Shit hit the fan pretty fucking quickly, way faster than it was supposed to-"

A pale face popped up behind Thalia's shoulder. "What's going on?"

Drew's jaw dropped, as her thoughts scrambled to keep up. What the fuck-

Unlike her, Jason had no problem speaking. He choked out, "Piper?"

...

Piper fucking McLean.

* * *

 **Ending Note:**

And that's the end of it! I am so sorry it took me this long- I got hit with writer's block. Badly. Not to mention the stress of school and everything else, but at least I managed to get this out. For anyone who's been keeping up with the story, sorry to keep you waiting.

R & R, please!


	11. AN

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

So... this isn't another chapter, but more of an announcement and an author's note. I'm putting this story on hiatus.

I have no idea how many people truly followed this story, but to those who did, I'm sorry for putting a stop to it here. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely satisfied with what I wrote now that I look back at it a year later- and everything I want to rewrite would pretty much constitute an entirely new story.

That's actually something I'm kind of working on, now and again. But for now, you can pretty much consider this fic discontinued. I don't see myself returning to it in the future.


End file.
